The European Commission has initiated a thorough investigation to assess whether the public service compensations granted to Corsica Linea and La Méridionale for the provision of maritime transport services to Corsica comply with EU state aid rules. This deep dive aims to scrutinize the compensations for public service provided to Corsica Linea and La Méridionale for maritime transport services to Corsica, covering the period from 2023 to 2030, against the EU's state aid regulations. The investigation centers around five contracts for the supply of passenger and freight maritime transport services between Marseille and five Corsican ports (Ajaccio, Bastia, Propriano, L'Île Rousse, and Porto-Vecchio) awarded in December 2022 by France to the two companies. This agreement, spanning from 2023 to 2030, was notified to the Commission with a compensation aimed at the two companies totaling €853.6 million.
In this preliminary phase, the Commission deems further information necessary to determine whether the public compensations are in line with EU state aid rules, particularly with the 2012 framework on Services of General Economic Interest. The investigation will focus on two main aspects: the justification for including the transport of industrial vehicles and their drivers in the contract, considering the existing commercial offerings, and verifying that the forecasted freight traffic volume in the contracts does not exceed the public service need identified by the French Authorities.
Moreover, the European Commission requires additional clarifications to ensure the contracts' compliance with EU public procurement rules. The initiation of this in-depth investigation provides France and other interested parties the opportunity to submit their observations, without prejudging the final outcome. The results of this investigation could have significant implications not just for the two maritime companies involved, but also for state aid policy at large, setting an important precedent in how the EU regulates economic support to public interest services.
