Brussels, 26/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised the restructuring plan for the SNCB, as well as its project to convert its freight division into a subsidiary. The European Commission authorised the restructuring plan and project to convert the SNCB's freight division at SNCB Logistics into a subsidiary. The plan was notified in 2009 as a means of rectifying the problems encountered in the freight business. It plans to legally separate the freight division and transform it into a commercial company under ordinary commercial law. The plan also includes a substantial reduction in the capacity of SNCB's freight activities. This separation is a condition for these activities to be able to benefit from financial support measures from the SNCB group, which mainly involve surplus funding linked to the employment of statutory personnel and assuming responsibility for losses made in the past. This separation is intended to rule out any cross-subsidisation between freight activities and the rest of the undertaking, and to ensure that the financial relations between freight and passenger transport activities are sustainable and kept on a commercial basis. Reduction in the new subsidiary's capacity is another of the compensatory conditions judged necessary to maintain competition in the rail freight transport market. According to the Commission, which will regularly verify appropriate implementation of the plan, the plan is also expected to ensure the future viability of the SNCB's freight business without unduly distorting competition in the internal market. (F.G./transl.fl)