Brussels, 02/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 29 August, the European General Court rejected a request from the French government for a preliminary ruling suspending execution of the European Commission's decision of 3 May 2013 requiring the recovery of €220 million in state aid from the Corsica region to the Société Nationale Corse Méditerranée (SNCM) ferry company as payment for providing regular public transport in the high season between the French mainland and the island of Corsica from 2007 to 2013 (see EUROPE 10840).
The General Court rejected the request for an emergency ruling, but has not commented on the substance of the appeal. In a press release issued on 30 August, the French transport ministry says its ruling does not in any way prejudge the appeal by the French government against the Commission's decision. Unlike the Commission, which says that the payment is illegal state aid because the extra ferry services provided by SNCM are not a service of general economic interest, the French government says that the extra ferries in peak periods make it possible to provide ferries to Corsica all year round, thus meeting a real public service need, and the payment for this service is decided in an objective and transparent way after a call for tender open to all. The General Court will respond to the appeal in several months' time. (FG/transl.fl)