Commission seeks feedback on its plan to adopt new rules to simplify procedures for State aid to green transport

The European Commission has launched today a call for evidence on its plan to adopt new rules that would exempt from prior notification under EU State aid rules certain types of aid for rail, inland waterway and multimodal transport. Interested parties can respond to the call for evidence for 4 weeks, until 3 April 2024.

Today’s call is part of a broader review exercise aimed at simplifying State aid procedures in the field of rail, inland waterways and intermodal transport and to promote a sustainable EU transport policy in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

The new Transport Block Exemption Regulation for State aid (‘TBER’), proposed in the context of the revision of the State aid Railway Guidelines, will declare certain categories of State aid to greener modes of transport compatible with the internal market so that Member States can implement the aid measures without prior approval by the Commission. The TBER will complement the revised Railway Guidelines, which will lay down rules to assess State aid measures that fall outside of the TBER and have to be notified to the Commission for prior approval.

The information collected through the call for evidence will provide part of the evidence to be used in the Commission’s impact assessment. The impact assessment will help the Commission define policy options for the TBER and analyse their impact.