On Tuesday 13 June, French NUPES MEPs Karima Delli (Greens/EFA), Leïla Chaibi (The Left) and Nora Mebarek (S&D) met the European Commissioner for Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager, to discuss the future of Fret SNCF.
In January, the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation to determine whether certain French support measures for the company comply with EU state aid rules (see EUROPE 13102/15). For its part, the French government has announced the liquidation of the incumbent rail operator.
“Clearly, the government’s plan was hastily put together. There are flaws, in particular the serious risk of a modal shift from rail to road”, denounced the three elected representatives in a press release.
According to Ms Mebarek, interviewed by EUROPE on Tuesday, “the government’s timetable needs to be re-examined”. She deplored the fact that the latter “had not worked on a different alternative project, in particular with the trade union associations”.
“Ms Vestager has confirmed that on the 23 routes that competition will have to take, very few competing companies are in a position to respond, and this will lower the level of freight”, she added.
Ms Vestager also reiterated her desire to relaunch rail freight and preserve the rail professions in order to achieve the objectives of the ‘Green Deal’. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)