20/07/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 20 July, the European Commission approved a Slovak state loan to the freight railway operator Železničná Spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia, a.s. (ZSSK Cargo), as it considered that the loan does not constitute state aid. The institution found that the Slovak authorities had behaved in the same way as a market operator would under similar circumstances and gave the company no selective economic advantage. More specifically, the Commission ascertained that banks had offered the company similar loans at similar interest rates and that the loan was awarded after a study had shown that ZSSK Cargo was able to pay it back. This study also suggested that the company implement restructuring measures to restore the viability of the company. (LT)