Brussels, 31 July 2023
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the reintroduction of a Czech scheme aimed at removing barriers to rail interoperability and increasing safety in the sector. The reintroduced scheme was originally approved in April 2017 (SA.44621) and partially prolonged in February 2020 (SA.55861) until 31 December 2022.
Czechia notified the Commission of its intention to reintroduce the scheme until 31 July 2028, with a budget of €380 million (CZK 9 billion). The scheme will support removing barriers to rail interoperability in accordance with the applicable technical specifications, in particular upgrading of European Rail Traffic Management System (‘ERTMS’) on vehicles running on the Czech rail network. In addition, Czechia intends to introduce a new measure to support the installation of Digital Automatic Coupling, a component to automatically couple and decouple the rolling stock in a freight train both physically and digitally, that was not supported under the two previous schemes.
Under the approved scheme, the support will take the form of direct grants to (i) owners or operators of railway rolling stock, (ii) railway carriers, and (iii) in certain cases the Czech railway infrastructure manager.
The Commission assessed the scheme under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 93 TFEU on transport coordination, and the 2008 Commission Guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings. The Commission found that the scheme is necessary to coordinate transport and promote the use of intermodal transport, which is less polluting than road transport and reduces road congestion in line with the objectives of the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the European Green Deal. Furthermore, the Commission found that the aid will have an ‘incentive effect’ as the beneficiaries would not carry out the investments in the absence of the public support. Finally, the Commission concluded that the scheme is proportionate, as it is limited to the minimum necessary, and has a limited impact on competition and trade between Member States. On this basis, the Commission approved the Czech scheme under EU State aid rules.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.103325 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Source – EU Commission