Brussels, 02/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is attempting to determine whether the public aid granted to the Portuguese public railway maintenance company, EMEF, gave it a selective advantage over its competitors. It opened an investigation into the case on Thursday 2 June.
In 2015, the Commission received a complaint from one of EMEF's competitors alleging that it had continuously received illegal financial support since 2005 from Comboios de Portugal, the state-owned Portuguese passenger rail operator, of which EMEF is a subsidiary. EMEF has been loss-making for at least 11 years, with the exception of the financial years 2012 and 2014. According to the complaint, the aid, for a total amount in the region of €90 million, was granted in the form of a capital increase, loans and a guarantee. At this stage, the Commission has concerns that the aid to EMEF was not granted under market conditions and that it therefore gave EMEF a selective advantage over its competitors.
The Commission will now carry out a more in-depth investigation in order to determine whether its initial concerns are founded. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)