Brussels, 13/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission approved the extension of aid to the Danish environmentally friendly system (already approved in 1999) that aims sending freight by rail. The system is limited to a four-year period and operates under non-discriminatory conditions. Its aims are twofold: compensating the effect of the introduction of a tax on use of rail infrastructure (sine 1998) and attracting part of freight transported by road to rail. The commission believes that this aid complies with the White Book on European transport policy (need to revitalise rail transport over roads) and that it does not distort competition. In compliance with Danish law, the subsidy to transporting goods in Danish territory can range from 0-0.25 Danish Crowns (0.02 euro) per ton-km; the amount is set for a year and adapted every year. In practice, this amount will vary from 0.03-0.04 DKK (0.40-0.5 cents), which is its current level. The main beneficiary of the system is Railion Danmark S/A but the number of beneficiaries will depend on the number of railway companies that want to transport freight in Denmark.