Subject: Follow-up on State aid for airports, commercial aviation and rail in Portugal
The Commission’s answer to our question E-001390/2024 on State aid for the new Alcochete airport in Portugal basically stated that it was unaware of any State aid having been granted1.
Portuguese media recently reported on large tax benefits to state-owned airline TAP Air Portugal, which is soon due to be privatised. This follows EUR 3.28 million in State aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not yet been reimbursed.
In August the Portuguese Government announced a subsidised EUR 20 per month national rail pass. This seems to infringe every competition rule, undermining the economics of private railway operators.
The Portuguese Government may be grossly distorting competition in the European airport, commercial aviation and railway sectors, setting bad precedents and potentially impacting the large neighbouring Spanish market, in particular.
The mission letter to the new Executive Vice-President responsible for the competition portfolio clearly states that she ‘should preserve the level playing field while pursuing further simplification of State Aid, prioritising work on the most distortive aids.’
State aid cannot be overlooked. It is the Commission’s duty to proactively scrutinise and enforce EU policies.
Therefore:
Given the many worrying signs, what scrutiny is being exercised over State aid for Lisbon’s new airport in Alcochete, for the privatisation of TAP Air Portugal and for Portuguese railways?
Submitted: 3.2.2025
1 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-001390-ASW_EN.html.
Answer given by Executive Vice-President Ribera on behalf of the European Commission (24 March 2025)
As set out in the Commission’s reply of 19 July 2024 (1), it is for the Member States to assess if a measure involves state aid and if so, to notify it to the Commission for assessment, unless it is covered by block exemptions.
While the Commission cannot comment on exchanges with Member States due to confidentiality, it currently has not sufficient evidence to raise doubts and investigate the measures referred to in the question ex officio.
Regarding the new airport in Alcochete, it is possible that public funding for airport infrastructure does not involve state aid, depending on the design of the concession agreement.
The Guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines (2) (Aviation Guidelines) offer guidance on the notion of aid and the conditions for state aid in the aviation sector to be compatible with the single market. In particular, investment aid for large airports is possible under exceptional circumstances under the Aviation Guidelines.
As concerns TAP Air Portugal, the Commission notes that any state aid approved by the Commission does not need to be reimbursed by the beneficiary.
This includes compensation for damages suffered due to COVID-19 and the restructuring aid as approved by the Commission in 2021 and 2022 (3).
The restructuring aid for TAP Air Portugal was approved by the Commission after having conducted a thorough investigation, considering comments from third parties, including competitors.
Regarding the EUR 20 rail pass, Member States can introduce public service obligations (PSO) establishing maximum tariffs for passengers in line with the provisions of the PSO Regulation 1370/2007 (4) on public passenger transport services by rail and by road.
1 1https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-001390-ASW_EN.html.
1 ∙ ⸱ Reply to Written Question E-001390/2024.
2 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52014XC0404%2801%29&qid=1741950911744
3 ∙ ⸱ SA.62304. SA.63041, SA.63042, SA.100121, SA.60165.
4 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2007/1370/oj/eng
| | ) If the requirements of that regulation are fulfilled, the measure is block-exempted and does not need to be notified to the Commission.