the EUROPEAN Commission has been too quick to give the green light to the financing of the Fehmarn connection.
It beats the EUROPEAN Court of justice on Thursday fixed. It annuls the commission’s approval of the financing which have not been adequately researched.
Among other things, states that the EU Commission could not have declared the state guarantees the compatibility with the internal market without knowing the conditions for the application of these.
– thus, the Commission has erred in law and committed a manifest error of assessment, writes the court.
The Danish government is providing support for the planning, construction and operation of the fixed link.
Scandlines and Stena Line that operates ferry connections to Germany from Denmark and Sweden, have complained about a wide range of conditions.
the EU Commission has previously approved the entire støttemodellen and concluded that no state aid is given. But it is wrong, say ferry companies.
the Commission has also, according to Scandlines and Stena Line errors in various reviews.
Among other things, the project has according to the complainants are not ‘common european interest’, and the commission has failed to demands for a proper investigation.