The European Commission today announced the launch of a public consultation on its proposed new state aid rules for sustainable land and multimodal transport. These rules will replace the existing 2008 guidelines on state aid to railway undertakings ("Railway Guidelines") and introduce a new Transport Block Exemption Regulation ("TBER").
The new Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines will extend the scope beyond railways to other environmentally friendly transport modes such as inland waterways and sustainable multimodal transport, introduce new categories of operating and investment aid, and introduce new rules to facilitate access to finance for new operators.
In addition, the Transport Block Exemption Regulation will simplify procedures by exempting certain categories of aid from prior approval by the Commission, thereby streamlining support for sustainable transport initiatives. As a result, a large proportion of currently notifiable state aid measures will be implemented by Member States without the need for prior approval by the Commission.
The consultation invites stakeholders to provide feedback on these key changes until 20 September 2024.
For further information, see Commission’s Press Release