Brussels, 05/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved State aid that the Netherlands is granting to RSC Rotterdam and European Container Terminal (ECT), for the construction and expansion of two intermodal rail terminals in Rotterdam.
The Commission considered that this aid was compatible with Article 73 of the treaty, which authorises aid "which responds to the needs of the coordination of transport". It stresses that the public finance "serves the coordination of transport, because it contributes to a modal shift of freight transport from road to the more environmentally friendly rail transport. This is fully in line with one fundamental principle of EU transport policy: sustainable mobility".
The Commission took account of the fact that: 1) transshipment equipment and infrastructure dedicated to the transshipment from and to marine vessels are not subsidized; 2) maximum funding intensities are below 20% of total construction costs; 3) without aid, the operators would have to claim from their customers a higher price for transshipment to recoup the costs of the financial investments, which would reduce the competitiveness of rail transport over road transport.