Following an investigation launched in January 2022, the European Commission has approved German state aid of 1.9 billion euros to the railway freight company DB Cargo of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) group. The investigation, launched in following a competitor's complaint, focused on on the agreement for the transfer of profit and loss from DB Cargo to DB, on the basis of which, starting from 2012, the parent company DB has covered the losses recorded by DB Cargo, on the supply by DB to DB Cargo of services at potentially advantageous prices, on the provision of group financing on favourable terms to DB Cargo and on the partial coverage by the German federal fund for the railways of the salaries of civil servants in previously employed by Deutsche Bundesbahn, the former and currently employed by DB Cargo.

With regard to the first measure, the European Commission has noted that the profit and loss transfer agreement, which involved state aid, has been terminated and will not be more in force from next January 1st, while the other three measures under investigation do not constitute State aid. In In particular, the Commission considered that the aid granted through the the profit and loss transfer agreement is compatible with the internal market, having assessed the transformation plan and restructuring underway for DB Cargo, which includes a package of measures to rationalise the company's activities and to reduce their costs, in order to ensure their profitability in the long term deadline by the end of 2026. The Commission explained that it had concluded that the disposals of DB Cargo's activities and assets, for which Germany has committed to mitigating the effects of the of distortion of competition caused by this State aid. In addition, the Commission took into account the fact that transport rail freight is indispensable as an alternative to low emissions compared to road transport to build circuits sustainable logistics.