The European Commission approves two French State aid measures of EUR 6.3 million and EUR 3 million to support the creation of two multimodal freight terminals in Calais and Sète.
The measures aim to support the construction of a rail motorway terminal near the port of Calais and the development of a multimodal platform in the port of Sète. These two projects involve, among other things, so-called horizontal transhipment technology, capable of transhipping, in particular, non-grippable semi-trailers, which traditional terminals cannot handle.
Both measures are part of a national strategy for the development of rail freight, which aims, among other things, to build several rail motorway terminals capable of transhipping semi-trailers and accommodating higher train frequencies. The beneficiaries are CargoBeamer Terminal Calais, a company specialising in rail motorway systems, and Sète Terminal Société Investissement, a company of the SNCF group specialising in passenger and freight rail transport. Both aids will take the form of direct subsidies covering part of the financing gaps of the two projects.
The Commission assessed the two measures in the light of the European Union rules on State aid, in particular Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows Member States to put in place aid measures aimed at the needs of transport coordination. The Commission considered that the two measures are necessary to foster the development of rail freight and modal shift, and that they have an incentive effect since in the absence of public support, the beneficiaries would not undertake the investments. Furthermore, the Commission found that the measures are proportionate, as they are limited to the minimum necessary, and will have a limited impact on competition and trade between Member States. On this basis, the Commission approved the two French aid measures under EU State aid rules.
The non-confidential version of the two decisions will be made available under the case numbers SA.63990 and SA.104936 in the State Aid Register on the Commission’s competition website, once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
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