The EU commission has started an investigation on the aids of State on the societies of the former shipowning group Tirrenia



The EU commission has announced to have under way an investigation deepened in matter of aids of State in relation to some measures of public support that Italy has adopted in favor of the societies of the former shipowning group Tirrenia.

The societies object of the investigation are Tirrenia di Navigazione, Caremar, Saremar, Siremar and Toremar. The three companies Caremar, Saremar and Toremar are transferred respective to the Regions Campania, Sardinia and Tuscany in the within of the reorganization of the Tirrenia group in sight of their privatization and the EU commission has specified that the privatization of these three societies does not re-enter within application of the investigation.

Brussels intends to assess instead if the distributed annual economic fees from the State to the societies of the group against the obligations of public service on some marine routes have determined an undue economic advantage regarding the concurrent companies. Moreover the Commission will estimate if the delay of contracts of public service beyond the end of 2008 is in compliance with the norms EU in matter of services of general economic interest (SIEG). Brussels intends to ascertain even if it is in existence an ulterior granted economic support to the societies of the Tirrenia group in the within of their privatization, mainly in terms of ulterior financings publics in order to cover the running expenses and fiscal advantages, that it are able to forge the competition in the market.

The under way procedure today is distinguished by another investigation in course that has for object the re-examination of the outlines of convention of public service before the end of 2008, started after in the 2009 inferior court of the European Law court it had cancelled a decision of the EU commission of the 2004 that for a reason or purpose considered the sums poured from Italy to partially compatible and partially incompatible the Tirrenia group of compensation with the norms EU in matter of aids of State.

"He is natural - the vice president of the EU commission, Joaquín Almunia has declared, responsible for competition - than the Member States must compensate the companies for the greater costs that support in supplying a service of general economic interest. However the Commission has also the obligation to verify that such services clearly are defined and that not is a compensation excess. The Commission approves of the initiatives undertaken from the Italian authorities in order to open the market of the marine cabotage, but it must also guarantee that the privatization of two of the societies, Tirrenia di Navigazione and Siremar, has not involved undue subsidies".

This morning in the margin of the assembly of the Italian Confederation Shipping (Confitarma), in development to Rome, the minister of Infrastructures and the Transports, Altero Matteoli, had specified that the government is engaged in order to avoid that the European authority antitrust opens a preliminary investigation on the cession of Tirrenia to Italian Company of Navigation and for being able therefore to return the allocation of Tirrenia to the new owners possible ( on 26 July 2011). Effort that is evidently not been worth to ask for the start of the investigation EU.