Off the wire
• Japan halts imports of live Australian cattle due to detection of Johne's disease  • Japan's defense ministry rescinds order to intercept DPRK missiles  • Turkish president in Kenya for three-day visit  • Spotlight: Chinese peacekeepers bolster security in Africa  • Rwandan, S. Korean firm ink deal to boost ICT cooperation  • Latvian president calls for closer business ties during Iranian FM's visit  • U.S. stocks open lower after Fed Beige Book  • Roundup: Indian court convicts 24 in 2002 anti-Muslim riot  • Iraqi forces gain ground in clashes near IS stronghold in Fallujah  • Germany pledges to protect economy interests in coal exit  
You are here: 　 Home

EU opens investigation into unfair aid for Portuguese rail company

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

European Union (EU) competition regulators have opened an investigation to assess whether the support for the state-owned Portuguese railway maintenance company EMEF breached EU state aid rules.

The European Commission said in a statement released on Thursday that a complaint from a competitor in 2015 alleged that EMEF continuously received illegal financial support from Comboios de Portugal (CP), the state-owned Portuguese passenger rail operator.

The regulators noted that EMEF had been operating at a loss since at least 2005, with the exceptions of 2012 and 2014.

According to the complaint and information received from Portugal, EMEF appears to have received public support worth around 90 million euros (100.46 million U.S. dollars) since 2005 from CP in the form of capital increases, loans, and guarantees.

Under EU state aid rules, public interventions in favor of companies can be considered free of state aid when they are made on terms that a private operator would have accepted under market conditions.

The regulators were concerned the measures in favor of EMEF were not granted at market conditions and may therefore have given EMEF a selective advantage over its competitors.

The EU executive body will investigate further to find out whether its initial concerns are confirmed or not.

EMEF is the state-owned Portuguese passenger rail operator. It is active in the railway maintenance sector, offering heavy maintenance, upgrading and refurbishment, as well as freight wagon design, manufacturing and upgrading. Endit