EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 35/40

(Case C-614/20)

(2021/C 35/52)

Language of the case: Estonian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: AS Lux Express Estonia

Defendant: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium

Questions referred

1.Is a situation in which the same obligation to transport free of charge certain categories of passenger (pre-school children, disabled persons up to the age of 16, severely disabled persons aged 16 and over, persons with a significant visual impairment and persons accompanying a person with a severe or significant visual impairment, and guide dogs or assistance dogs of a disabled person) is imposed on all private-law undertakings that operate regular road, water and rail passenger transport services within the national territory on a commercial basis to be treated as a public service obligation within the meaning of Articles 2(e) and 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 1191/69 and 1107/70?

2.If it does constitute a public service obligation within the meaning of Regulation No 1370/2007: Is a Member State entitled under Article 4(1)(b)(i) of Regulation No 1370/2007 to exclude, by a national law, the payment of compensation to the carrier for the discharge of such an obligation? If a Member State is entitled to exclude compensation to the carrier, under what conditions can it do so?

3.Is it permissible under Article 3(3) of Regulation No 1370/2007 to exclude from the scope of that regulation general rules for establishing maximum tariffs for categories of passenger other than those referred to in that provision? Does the obligation to notify the European Commission under Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply even if the general rules for establishing maximum tariffs do not provide for compensation for the carrier?

4.If Regulation No 1370/2007 is not applicable in the present case: Can the granting of compensation be based on another legal act of the European Union (such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union)?

5.What conditions must the compensation, if any, to be granted to the carrier meet in order to comply with the State aid rules?

* Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 1191/69 and 1107/70 (OJ 2007 L 315, p. 1).