{"id":172720,"date":"2025-02-04T18:53:36","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T08:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=59522"},"modified":"2025-02-04T18:53:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T08:53:36","slug":"rail-industry-lodges-complaint-against-romania-at-eu-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=172720","title":{"rendered":"Rail industry lodges complaint against Romania at EU Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Romanian rail industry has had enough of it. The government\u2019s plan to establish a new state rail freight operator is likely in breach of EU competition rules. Private rail association OPSFPR has now taken to the European Commission to lodge a formal complaint, as it would not be the first time Romania breaks these rules.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Romania plans to allocate over 300 million euros in funding to the newly established state rail operator Carpatica Feroviar. The company is supposed to take over from CFR Marf\u0103, which was bankrupted after the European Commission found that it had been getting disproportionate amounts of state aid. Consequently, it had to pay over half a billion euros<\/a> back within six months in 2020, but failed to do so.<\/p>\n

Now, Romania is supposedly planning to give Carpatica Feroviar the money needed to buy assets from CFR Marf\u0103. The latter can then use that money to pay off the illegal state aid it still needs to return. In essence, the company would be returning public money\u2026 using public money.<\/p>\n

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CFR Marf\u0103 wagons. Image: Shutterstock. \u00a9 Bogdan Vacarciuc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Romanian rail turns to the EU<\/h2>\n

Private Romanian rail association OPSFPR has had enough of it. The organisation says that it has lodged a complaint against Romanian at the EU, which concerns \u201cthe Romanian state’s failure to comply with its obligations regarding the recovery of incompatible state aid granted to CFR Marf\u0103, as well as the obvious attempt to circumvent European provisions by establishing the company Carpatica Feroviar Rom\u00e2nia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecifically, OPSFPR complains to the European Commission about the Romanian state’s intention to use public money intended for the capitalisation of Carpatica Feroviar Rom\u00e2nia to purchase rolling stock and other assets from CFR Marf\u0103\u201d, it elaborates.<\/p>\n

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OPSFPR is specifically calling upon the EU to do the following things:<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Blocking the transfer of viable assets to Carpatica Feroviar, given the lack of a transparent procedure and the impact on the market<\/p>\n

– Analysing the impact of the allocation of 300 million euros of public funds, which contravenes the principles of efficient use of resources and European legislation on state aid<\/p>\n

– Implementing immediate measures to restore fair competition conditions on the Romanian railway transport market<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Playing around with the rules<\/h2>\n

In so doing, the association wants to make clear to the Commission that Romania is playing around with the rules: \u201cOPSFPR draws attention to the clear intention of the Romanian authorities to circumvent the provisions of the European Commission, by establishing and capitalising the company Carpatica Feroviar Rom\u00e2nia, to which the viable assets of CFR Marf\u0103 will be transferred through a non-transparent and non-competitive procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Carpatica Feroviar gets preferential access to CFR Marf\u0103 assets, private parties are not getting a fair chance at competing in a public tender, OPSFPR points out. It calls it \u201ca serious threat to the integrity of the international market of the European Union.\u201d The Romanian authorities have not responded to appeals from the association, OPSFPR says.<\/p>\n