The European Commission (EC) has opened an in-depth investigation questioning whether the Italian government propped up the Port Authority of Naples and Italian shipyard Cantieri del Mediterraneo (CAMED)
The EC will look to verify whether direct grants of €44m from Italy to the Port Authority of Naples were in line with EU state aid rules. The grants were used to renovate the drydocks rented out by the Port Authority of Naples to CAMED on the basis of a 30-year concession.
“The Commission’s preliminary view is that besides the Port Authority, also CAMED may have benefitted from these grants via the concession agreement. Indeed, in the absence of a tender for the use of the dry-docks, CAMED may use the refurbished facilities to provide ship repair activities for a price potentially below market rates. This may have given both companies an economic advantage over their competitors and therefore involve state aid within the meaning of the EU rules,” the EC said in a release.
