Baltic Motorways of the Sea to Sweden

The European Commission has reported that a project designed to improve freight flows between Sweden and Poland will receive around €17m ($25.2m) from EU coffers. EU money will trigger rail and port terminal investment in Sweden, said project co-ordinator Per-Olof Löfberg. The sea motorway, part of a larger initiative known as the Baltic Link, does not involve operating aid, he said. Project partners include Stena Line. Final details still have to be agreed. “We expect there will be a period of negotiating with the commission before the money is transferred,” Mr Löfberg said.

The EU contribution will be around 20% of the total project cost. Brussels’ approval, which comes at the second attempt for the project partners, is expected to trigger similar investments in Poland. The other five proposed projects — in the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean and the Black Sea — were rejected because they were of “insufficient quality”, contained “serious weaknesses” or were too expensive. As a result, it should be noted most of the €83m available for motorways of the sea is still unallocated; an outcome the Commission admitted was disappointing.

Aid to industry under programmes such as the motorways of the sea and Marco Polo is under scrutiny due to its potential to distort the market for existing services. Operating aid is particularly controversial, although large amounts of operating aid have not yet been approved by Brussels. Both programmes have struggled to attract valid bids. The Marco Polo programme was also undersubscribed until it was overhauled a year ago. Thanks to improved marketing, Marco Polo is now oversubscribed.