On Tuesday 23 January, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into restructuring aid granted to the Polish regional Railways, as it suspects that the company received this aid in 2015.
The Polish regional Railways are the principal regional railway operator for passenger transport in Poland and the sole provider in seven regions of the country. The company has been in financial difficulties for some years and in September 2015, Poland notified restructuring aid of nearly €181 million.
Under EU Guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty of 2014, companies in a situation of this kind may only receive restructuring aid once in a period of ten years, under the so-called 'one time, last time' principle. This principle aims to encourage supported companies to improve their economic performances rather than rely on public funding to stay in business.
In its in-depth investigation, the Commission will seek to determine whether the 2015 support measure amounts to restructuring aid and if the aid being investigated complies with the 'one time, last time' principle. It will also determine whether Poland has proposed appropriate measures to offset competition distortions counter-balancing the proposed aid and whether the Polish regional railways are making enough of a contribution to the restructuring costs. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)