Brussels, 26/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 26 November, the European Commission decided to take Austria to the Court of Justice for failing to comply with EU rules on financial transparency in the rail sector.
Austria does not ensure that public funds paid as public service obligations dedicated to passenger transport services are correctly shown in relevant accounts. The Commission explained that it was for this reason that it is not possible to identify how public money is spent and whether it is used for other purposes than the ones foreseen. The Commission is concerned that “public funds are used to cross subsidise other transport services. This could distort competition, potentially giving an unfair competitive advantage to those receiving the public subsidies”.
The Commission considers that Austria has failed to comply with key provisions of the Directive 2012/34/EU and Regulation (EC) N. 1370/2007 on financial transparency. (LC)