On Wednesday 4 November, the European Commission authorised Dutch aid worth €1.5 billion to compensate companies providing regional and long-distance public passenger transport services in the Netherlands for the damage suffered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for Competition Policy, considers that continuing to provide transport services to citizens is essential during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dutch government introduced emergency measures that hit regional and long-distance public transport services hard: the number of users of local public passenger transport services fell to levels as low as 90% of 2019 numbers, leading to a significant drop in revenue. At the same time, transport operators continued to incur various costs, as during the pandemic they provided passenger transport services to ensure the mobility of people without access to alternative means of transport.
The Dutch scheme is designed to compensate each operator providing public transport services on the basis of a contract concluded with regional or national authorities for the damages suffered. Transport companies will be entitled to compensation in the form of direct grants for damages incurred between 15 March and 31 August 2020. The Netherlands will ensure that no individual transport operator receives more in compensation than it suffered in damages and that any payment in excess of the actual damage is recovered.
The Commission considers that the coronavirus outbreak qualifies as such an exceptional occurrence, as it is an extraordinary, unforeseeable event having a significant economic impact. The Commission therefore concluded that the scheme is in line with EU State Aid rules. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)