14.2.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 39/57 COMMISSION DECISION of 5 January 2000 on the application of Article 9 of Council Directive 96/67EC to Diisseldorf Airport (Flughafen Diisseldorf GmbH) (notified under document number C(1999) 5067) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2000/122/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 96/67/EC of 15 October 1996 on access to the groundhandling market at Community airports (1), and in particular Article 9(5) thereof, Having regard to the request of 5 October 1999 for approval of the decision of the German authorities, and after consulting those authorities, After consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: 1. Scope of the exemption notified by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany 1.1. Notification by the German authorities By letter received by the Commission on 5 October 1999, the German authorities notified a request for approval of the decision of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany of 30 September 1999 to grant Disseldorf airport (Flughafen Diisseldorf GmbH) an exemption to: — ban self-handling, and — reserve for Diisseldorf Airport (Flughafen Disseldorf GmbH) the provision of services to third parties, for the categories of services referred to in items 4.1 (with regard to the physical handling of freight, whether () OJ L 272, 25.10.1996, p. 36. incoming, outgoing or being transferred, between the air terminal and the aircraft), 5.4 (with regard to the loading and unloading of the aircraft and the transport of passengers and baggage between the aircraft and the terminal), 5.5 and 5.6 of the Annex to the Directive. This exemption is granted, on the basis of Article 9(1)(b) and (d) of the Directive, from 1 January 2000 until 31 December 2001. It follows the Commission Decision of 14 January 1998(%) concerning a derogation granted by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany on 9 October 1997. Pursuant to Article 9(3) of the Directive, the Commission published an extract from the said notification in the Official Journal of the European Communities of 26 October 1999 (%) and invited interested parties to submit their comments. In accordance with Article 9(5) of the Directive, the Commission consulted the German Government on its draft evaluation on 24 November 1999 and the German authorities gave their comments by letter of 29 November 1999. Basis of the exemption The general rules on access to the groundhandling services market are set out in Articles 6 and 7 of the Directive. These provisions clearly state the principle that most categories of groundhandling services should be opened up to the maximum possible extent. For an airport with a volume of traffic like that of Disseldorf the Directive provides for recognition of the right to selthandle from 1 January 1998 and opens up the handling market to third parties from 1 January 1999. However, in order to take into account the specific situation and role of an airport, and in particular the safety, security, space and capacity constraints which () OJ L 173, 18.6.1998, p. 45. () O] C 307, 26.10.1999, p. 3.