Transport

Abstract

The Commission's major policy initiatives in the transport sector in 2011 were the adoption of the white paper on transport, the recast of rail legislation and the review of the airports' slot regulation. The Commission initiated several investigations and conducted unannounced inspections at the premises of several rail undertakings and companies active in container shipping, while it continued supervising the implementation of the commitments given in 2010 (British Airways / Iberia / American Airlines joint venture). The central merger decision in 2011 in the transport sector was the prohibition of the proposed merger between Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air. In the field of State aid the Commission prepared the revision of the applicable Guidelines and adopted numerous decisions with an increased enforcement activity in the aviation sector, while the longstanding practice of the Commission with regard to the notion of economic activity of an airport operator and the construction of the underlying infrastructure was confirmed by the General Court. Finally, the Commission started the review of the Guidelines for State aid to the maritime transport sector and adopted decisions concerning, notably, the Spanish Tax Lease system for ships and the restructuring of SeaFrance.