On Thursday 13 June, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation, following a complaint lodged by a competitor, to determine whether certain support measures for the German local public transport company WestVerkehr GmbH constituted State aid incompatible with the internal market.
This company has been entrusted with a public service obligation in the Heinsberg district since 2007.
The Commission will continue its in-depth investigation before determining whether four compensation measures received by WestVerkehr could give the latter an undue advantage over its competitors.
The institution explained that these measures consist of: - the direct award of a public service contract to WestVerkehr by the district of Heinsberg; - a profit and loss transfer agreement between WestVerkehr and its majority shareholder NEW Kommunalholding; - the payment of WestVerkehr’s capital reserve by its minority shareholder Kreiswerke Heinsberg GmbH; - a current account contract between WestVerkehr and Kreiswerke Heinsberg.
NEW Kommunalholding and KreiswerkeHeinsberg are companies in which the district of Heinsberg holds a stake. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)