Daily News 25 / 08 / 2017 - Government World Magazine

State aid: Operator of Polish A2 motorway needs to repay around €210 million of undue compensation to Polish State

The European Commission has concluded that AWSA, the operator of the Polish A2 motorway, was overcompensated for a change in Polish law on toll motorways. This was in breach of EU State aid rules. AWSA has to repay PLN 895 million (around €210 million), to the Polish State. The Commission’s in-depth investigation opened in June 2014 confirmed that AWSA was entitled to receive compensation under its concession agreement with Poland to restore its expected financial situation just before the change of Polish law in 2005. However, the Commission’s investigation confirmed that the Polish authorities had relied on outdated figures, which led to an overestimation of AWSA’s revenue losses arising due to the legislative change. As a result, the compensation actually paid to AWSA went beyond the direct effects of the legislative change and improved its expected financial situation. The Commission found this amounts to an undue economic advantage to AWSA, in breach of EU State aid rules. A full press release is available online in EN, FR, DE and PL. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Yizhou Ren – Tel.: +32 229 94889)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Federica Mogherini à Paris pour réaffirmer le soutien de l’UE à la Libye, au Tchad et au Niger pour le contrôle et la gestion maîtrisée des flux migratoires

La Haute Représentante/Vice-Présidente Federica Mogherini participera lundi à la rencontre entre les chefs d’État et de gouvernement d’Allemagne, d’Espagne, de France et d’Italie ainsi que du Niger, du Tchad et de la Libye, organisée par la France à Paris. Cette rencontre sera l’occasion de réaffirmer l’important soutien de l’UE à la Libye, au Tchad et au Niger pour le contrôle et la gestion maîtrisée des flux migratoires. L’Union européenne et ses états membres suivent une approche conjointe de la gestion de la crise migratoire avec leurs partenaires africains, basée sur la coopération avec les pays partenaires, l’amélioration de la situation des migrants dans leur pays d’origine et le long des routes migratoires, l’assistance pour les retours volontaires et l’ouverture de voies d’immigration légales et sûres vers l’Europe, également à travers la réinstallation de ceux qui ont besoin de protection internationale. La rencontre de Paris visera à combiner et renforcer ce soutien. Les images et vidéos de la rencontre, y compris de la conférence de presse conjointe qui la clôturera, seront disponibles sur EbS. (For more information: Maja Kocijancic – Tel.: +32 229 86570; Catherine Ray – Tel.: + 32 229 69921; Lauranne Devillé – Tel.: +32 229 80833)

Johannes Hahn attends informal Western Balkans Prime Ministers’ meeting in Durrës, Albania

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, will travel to Durrës, Albania, on Saturday 26 August, to attend the informal meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Western Balkans Six. The focus of the meeting will be on boosting the implementation of the commitments taken at the Trieste Summit in July 2017, especially the action plan on the deepening of regional economic integration. The Regional Economic Area agreed at the Trieste Summit will provide new opportunities for businesses and citizens alike and strengthen growth and jobs. The next concrete steps include the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, identifying and scrapping red tape and regulatory barriers that impede trade and investment in the region, setting up a regional dialogue on digital transformation, and launching negotiations on a dispute settlement mechanism. The European Commission strongly supports the Western Balkans’ regional co-operation as an integral part of their EU accession perspective, through substantial investments in connecting infrastructure, economies and people within the region itself and between the Western Balkans’ region and the European Union. Videos and photos of the visit will be available on EbS. (For more information: Maja Kocijancic – Tel.: +32 229 86570)

Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)