The Commission received from France a notification of its plans to grant State aid to a joint venture between SNCF Réseau and Aéroports de Paris, which will build and operate a direct express railway line between the Parisian train station Gare de l’Est and the Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. The total estimated cost of the project is 1,32 billion euros, with the new 32 kilometer line expected to start operations in 2023. The aid will be provided in the form of a tax-free grant, to be financed by a levy imposed from 2024 on air passengers using the Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

The Commission assessed the measures under Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows State aid to facilitate the coordination of transport, and on 26 June 2017 declared the proposed State aid compatible with EU State aid rules, moreover the aid measures are necessary and proportionate for the implementation of the project.

Davide Scavuzzo