COMMISSION APPROVES €22.5 MILLION DUTCH SCHEME TO ENCOURAGE MODAL SHIFT
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €22.5 million Dutch scheme to encourage freight transport to shift from road to inland waterways and rail. Under the scheme, which will run until the end of January 2026, the aid will take the form of non-refundable grants to shippers and logistics operators to reward them for the reduction in external costs (such as pollution, noise, congestion and accidents) achieved by using inland waterways and rail instead of road transport.
The Commission assessed the measure under EU State aid rules and found that the measure is necessary and proportionate to promote the use of inland waterways and rail transport, and will have an 'incentive effect' as the beneficiaries would not carry out the shift to the same extent in the absence of the public support. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the measure is compatible with EU State aid rules. More information will be available on the Commission's competition's website in the public case register under the case number SA.100463 once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Source: European Commission