On Monday 17 July, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a €125 million Italian State aid scheme designed to modernise and make safer the rolling stock used to transport goods.
The aid will go to railway undertakings or companies leasing rolling stock used on Italian territory in the form of a direct subsidy covering part of the cost of purchasing new equipment (freight cars and locomotives).
The amount of aid allocated per beneficiary will cover up to 30% of the cost of purchasing the new equipment, provided that the same number and type of old vehicles are scrapped.
In addition, if the new locomotives do not replace old ones, the subsidy will cover up to 20% of the purchase costs of the new rail vehicles.
Finally, as part of this measure, beneficiary companies will receive aid of up to €1 million for each new vehicle purchased.
The Commission took the view that the scheme complied with European rules on State aid, in particular Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, relating to the need for coordination of transport. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)