Commission Approves €114 Million Aid to Extend Existing Infrastructure for Cruise Ships in Piraeus
02 July 2013
On 2 July, the European Commission adopted a decision approving €114 million aid for an infrastructure project at the Port of Piraeus.
The Commission concluded that the project is in line with Article 107(3) (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows aid for the development of certain economic activities, provided that it does not unduly affect trade and competition.
In September 2012, Greece notified plans to support an investment project by the port authority to extend existing infrastructure for cruise ships at the Port of Piraeus by 2 docking stations. The project is co-financed with €96.9 million from EU Structural Funds. The Commission explains that Greece carried out an in-depth cost-benefit analysis showing that the income to be generated for the Port Authority from the use of the infrastructure over the next 20 years will be insufficient to cover the investment costs. Therefore, the project would not be carried out without public funding.
The Commission also found that the public funding of €113.9 million is limited to the funding gap identified in the study and is therefore necessary to make the project possible and remains limited to the amount strictly necessary to achieve its goals. Finally, the potential distortions of competition and trade between Member States to be generated by the creation of additional capacities at the Port of Piraeus are relatively limited, because the port of Piraeus will still have a relatively low market share in cruise traffic in the Mediterranean. The positive effects of the project for the cruise market of the Mediterranean Sea and on regional development clearly outweigh any potential distortions of competition brought about by the aid.
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