The means of charging users of transport infrastructure vary significantly within the EU. This can result in distortion of the European transport markets. For example, road hauliers may choose to locate in states which charge low vehicle registration fees, but refuel in states with lower fuel taxes. The issues surrounding the charging by operators of transport infrastructure with monopoly power, such as airports, railways and air traffic control, are even more complex. In the 1998 White Paper Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use, the European Commission proposed that Member States should adopt a common approach to setting these charges. In a recent study for the Commission, it was investigated how these principles could be applied to the charges levied for terminal air traffic control services (the control of aircraft arriving and departing at airports). This paper uses work on air traffic control charges to illustrate some more general issues in transport infrastructure pricing.
Abstract