On Friday 23 February, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation to verify the compliance of public service compensation granted in December 2022 by France to Corsica Linea and La Méridionale - individually for each of the companies or as the Corsica Linea-La Méridionale Group - for the provision of maritime transport services to Corsica.
More specifically, the Commission will examine the compliance of this compensation with European rules on State aid, in particular with the 2012 framework for services of general economic interest or SGEIs.
France notified the Commission of compensation of €853.6 million for Corsica Linea and La Méridionale under five contracts for the provision of maritime passenger and freight transport services between Marseille and the ports of Ajaccio, Bastia, Propriano, Île-Rousse and Porto-Vecchio over the period 2023-2030.
The Commission wants to examine whether the inclusion of goods transport by trailer trucks in the contracts was justified. The Commission will also investigate whether the volume of freight traffic to be carried under the service contracts is proportionate to the public service needs defined by the French authorities. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)