IP/06/743
Brussels, 7 June 2006
The European Commission authorizes a State guarantee for the financing of new rail infrastructure in Ireland The Commission has today decided that the State guarantee which Ireland grants to Coràs Iompair Eirann, the Irish transportation board, for the financing of new rail infrastructure, does not constitute State aid. Accordingly, it has not raised any objections to this measure, which Ireland had notified in 2004.
Commissioner Barrot declared: “This decision has re-affirmed the Commission’s long-standing practice, where supervising the construction of new transport infrastructure by a public authority is not an economic activity subject to competition law, but a sovereign decision of the Member State, under the condition that all potential users of the infrastructure enjoy free and non discriminatory access.”
According to the Irish authorities, the Irish rail network is currently in an unsatisfactory condition and is in urgent need of new investments. The guarantee will allow Coràs Iompair Eirann to raise money with private banks in order to finance the needed investments more easily.
