New state aid decisions in transport sector

Publication date: 15 July 2009

The European Commission announced several state aid decisions in the transport sector, on 13 July:

Port of Piraeus, Greece

The EU executive cleared public financing for the construction of a pedestrian bridge and jetties in the passenger section of the port (estimated cost: €5.1
million). Public financing of the pedestrian bridge is not considered to be a state aid measure since it is a general infrastructure open to all users and cannot be exploited commercially. For the jetties, the public investment is considered to constitute state aid, but it is considered compatible with EU rules. Things are not quite so simple for other investments planned by the Greek authorities (cost: €52.8 million), for which the Commission has decided to open an in-depth investigation. The projects include the construction of a jetty and the acquisition of equipment for the port’s container terminal. The Commission finds that the Piraeus Port Authority should bear these costs since the infrastructures will be commercially exploitable.

Intermodal transport , Poland

The Commission authorised subsidies for the construction of intermodal infrastructures, the purchase of equipment and the development of port infrastructures (budget: €111 million until 31 December 2015). The beneficiaries will be intermodal operators and port managers. The maximum aid intensity will be 50% for infrastructures and 30% in the other cases. Transport infrastructure, Hungary

The executive cleared a Hungarian aid scheme aimed at extending and modernising existing transport infrastructure and strengthening its intermodality.

The aid covers the connections between the public rail and road network and logistics centres, industrial parks, commercial airports and inland waterway ports. The total budget adds up to €59 million for the period until 2013. The entire national territory is concerned apart from the central region (Közép-Magyarország).

Polish airports

Poland has been authorised to proceed with an aid scheme worth around €0.5 billion for ten airports. The measures concern small regional airports near Poznan, Rzeszów, Krakow, Łódz and Bydgoszcz, and future airports to serve Lublin, Modlin, the Podlaskie region, Olsztyn-Szymany and Zegrze Pomorskie.

All the small regional airports can benefit from subsidies equal to the full investment costs, while support for the medium-sized Poznan and Krakow airports
will be limited to 76% of costs. The measure is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the amount of around €192 million.

Fehmarn Strait link, Germany - Denmark

The Commission approved the public financing of the planning phase of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link (construction and exploitation of a bridge or tunnel connecting Northern Germany and Southern Denmark by road and rail spanning the 19-km wide Fehmarn Strait). The financing model notified by Denmark includes public support to Femern Bælt A/S, a fully state-owned company specially set up to be in charge of the preliminary phase and preparatory work for the project. The budget for the planning phase is estimated at DKK1.445 million (€194 million). The link is expected to be opened for traffic in 2018.

Combus, Denmark

The Danish public company specialised in coach transport, Combus, has been ordered to pay back state aid granted between 1999 and 2001 in the amount
of €63.7 million. The Commission ruled that the funding was not compatible with the common market. The aid was granted in the context of the company’s restructuring.

The Commission had initially declared the aid compatible (in 2001), but the Court of First Instance annulled its decision, in 2004.

Source: Europolitics