Brussels, 25/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 25 July, the Commission announced that it considers aid of €358.6 million granted by Spain to ADIF, the railway infrastructure manager, for the construction of a high-speed railway testing centre in Andalusia, to be state aid which is incompatible with the single market.
The project, known as CEATF ('Centro de Ensayons de Alta Tecnologia Ferroviara'), does not meet the criteria for a common project and will not contribute to promoting sustainable development in the region, the Commission found after its in-depth investigation. It takes the view that CEATF is unnecessary with the infrastructure already in place. Its investigation also showed that in 2011, Spain already paid €140.7 million to ADIF before the Commission had reached its decision, in breach of the EU rules. The Commission also noted that despite the public funding granted, no private investigator had expressed any interest in participating in the financing. In reality, estimates show that CEATF would remain in deficit from start to finish. The public funding would therefore create a competition distortion by subsidising a newcomer to the market. The Commission has now ordered Spain to recover from ADIF all monies the company has already received. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)