2006/367/EC: Commission Decision of 20 October 2004 on the State aid partly implemented by France for the Sernam company (notified under document number C(2004)3940) (Text with EEA relevance)

• Articles: 6

Article 1

1.   The State aid of €503 million for the Sernam company approved in May 2001 is compatible with the common market under the conditions laid down in Articles 3 and 4.

2.   The State aid of €41 million provided by France to the Sernam company is incompatible with the common market.

Article 2

1.   France shall take all the measures necessary to recover from the beneficiary the aid referred to in Article 1(2) that has already been unlawfully placed at the beneficiary’s disposal.

2.   Recovery shall take place immediately in accordance with the procedures of national law to the extent that these procedures permit the immediate and effective implementation of this Decision. The aid to be recovered shall include interest from the day on which the aid was placed at the beneficiary's disposal to the day on which the aid is recovered. Interest shall be calculated on the basis of the reference rate used for the calculation of the subsidy equivalent for aid granted for regional purposes.

Article 3

1.   Subject to paragraph 2, the following conditions shall be complied with:

a)

Sernam may develop only its activities to carry mail by railway in accordance with the Train Bloc Express (TBE) concept. In this regard, SNCF guarantees that it will offer to any other operator who so requests the same conditions as those granted to Sernam to develop TBE freight transport by rail.

b)

In return, Sernam shall, in the next two years as from the day on which this Decision in notified, fully replace its own road transport resources and services by road transport resources and services of one or more companies that are legally and economically independent of SNCF and are chosen in accordance with an open, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure.

Sernam’s own road transport resources and services means all of the road resources – i.e. road transport vehicles – of the Sernam company of which it has full ownership or which it leases or rents.

The companies that take over Sernam’s road activities shall perform the road transport services using their own resources.

2.   In the event that Sernam sells its assets en bloc by […]at market price through a transparent and open procedure to a company that has no legal link with SNCF, the conditions of paragraph 1 shall not be applicable.

Article 4

Any partial or full sale of Sernam shall be effected at market price and through a transparent procedure that is open to all its competitors. Under these conditions, the Sernam company shall, if it continues to exist, be responsible for paying back the aid of €41 million.

Article 5

Within two months of the date on which this Decision is notified, France shall inform the Commission of the measures taken to comply with it.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.