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#StateAid - Commission approves €70 million public support to promote shift of freight traffic from road to rail and inland waterways in Belgium

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The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a €70 million aid scheme to encourage the shift of freight traffic from road to rail and inland waterways in Belgium. The scheme, which will run until the end of October 2023, provides aid to (i) rail operators and (ii) consolidation terminals for barges that engage in the bundling of freight volumes transported to and from Flemish seaports in Belgium. The aid takes the form of a subsidy (per train or per container), designed to cover the additional costs incurred by rail operators and consolidation terminals for barges for efficiently combining freight volumes transported to and from Flemish seaports.

This bundling of freight volumes will make rail and inland waterways more time-efficient, less costly and therefore more attractive and competitive for shippers compared to transport by road. The Commission found that the measure is necessary to provide the right incentives to shippers to opt for less polluting modes of transport (rail or inland waterways), while at the same time reducing road congestion.

The measure will therefore be beneficial both for the environment and for mobility. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the measure is compatible with EU State aid rules, in particular Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding transport coordination and the Commission Guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings. More information will be available on the Commission's competition's website in the public case register under the case number SA.50584 once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.

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