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VIII. Other financial commitments
Koelnmesse GmbH is a member of the supplemen-
tary pension fund of the City of Cologne (ZVK). ZVK
is responsible for providing its members‘ employees
with a supplementary pension for old age, occupa-
tional disability, incapacity, and surviving depend-
ents. The assessment is currently 5.8% of the
remuneration subject to supplementary pension
payments. To set up a capital cover, a surcharge of
3.2% will be levied for 2015 (unchanged in 2016:
3.2%). In the shortfall in coverage attributable to
the company, for which in an exercise of the
accounting option under Art. 28 EGHGB no
provisions have been created, totals to TEUR 33,989
as at 31 December 2015 (TEUR 35,157 for the
consolidated companies). With respect to the
consolidated companies, the wages and salaries
subject to assessment amounted to TEUR 27,029
and to TEUR 26,195 for the consolidated compa-
nies. In addition, there are annual liabilities to
various pension funds for the pensions of the
Executive Vice Presidents and several Vice Presi-
dents. These liabilities total to TEUR 256 for the
consolidated companies and to TEUR 251 for
Koelnmesse GmbH.
For an interim period extending from 1 August
2010, the City of Cologne, Koelnmesse GmbH and
the owner of the new trade fair halls built in 2005
have agreed in principle to retroactively reduce the
rental fees for the halls to an average of currently
75% of the amount originally agreed upon. The
Koelnmesse GmbH Supervisory Board and the
Cologne City Council have approved the interim
agreement. However, the owner of the halls
expressly does not waive its right to receive the
original amount of the rental fee. A final agreement
is still pending. From the beginning of 2015 onward,
for Koelnmesse GmbH and the Group, the financial
obligations under the original lease and original
term of lease for the new Northern Halls would
total to TEUR 413,470 plus ancillary costs.
March 2016, the Council of the City of Cologne, the
company bodies at Koelnmesse and the sharehold-
ers of real estate company Köln Messe 15 –18 GbR
approved of the settlement agreed among the
contracting parties in connection with the legal
dispute involving the Northern Halls site. The
settlement provides for a permanent reduction in
annual rental payments for the Northern Halls and
hence the future financial obligations that this
involves. The settlement between the parties to the
contract, and the decisions by the parties’ deci-
sion-making bodies, are subject to the proviso that
the EU grants its consent from a state-aid and
public-procurement standpoint. As long as this
agreement is not forthcoming, it cannot be
assumed that positive earnings effects will emerge
from these decisions.
The leases for the Congress Centre newly built in
2005, and for the Messehochhaus, give rise to
long-term obligations to Koelnmesse GmbH, and at
the consolidated companies level, that total to
TEUR 72,826 plus ancillary costs.
In addition, there are commitments of TEUR 18,439
from long-term rental and leasing contracts for
business and office equipment (company cars,
copiers, computers and peripheral equipment, etc.)
at Koelnmesse GmbH (TEUR 20,833 for the
consolidated companies).