This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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CalMac ferry service tender
17/10/2003
The Executive will urgently clarify with the European
Commission whether a recent European ruling on state aid
provisions means the CalMac ferry service must still go out
to tender, it was announced today.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said the impact from a
recent European Court of Justice ruling involving a German
bus company, Altmark, was far from clear and it was
important the matter was clarified.
Mr Stephen said:
"The Executive's priority, as it has always been, is to
protect lifeline ferry services. We are currently examining
the full implications from the Altmark decision and the
potential impact on tendering the CalMac ferry service.
"The consequences of the Altmark case for ferry services
are far from clear. Altmark is a German bus company and the
European Court of Justice's decision deals with the
interaction between the treaty and the relevant state aid
regulations for bus services.
"Subsidies relating to ferry services are covered by
separate but similar EC maritime regulations and
guidelines, which are likely to continue to be
relevant.
"As a matter of urgency we shall seek clarification of
the legal position and raise the issue with the European
Commission to determine whether we are still required to
tender the CalMac ferry services. It is important that we
go through this process as the Commission has very
significant powers, which could be used against us if it
believes we are taking inappropriate action.
"In the meantime we will continue to prepare for
tendering to protect the service, as previously required by
the Commission. We need to be in a position to tender on
schedule if this remains the eventual outcome."