Italy gets approval for $314-million shortsea subsidies
The European Commission Wednesday approved a 240-million-euro ($314-million) Italian program to subsidize the transfer of goods from road to sea.
The program covers three years, during which subsidies will be paid to trucking companies that make use of existing or new intra-European maritime routes instead of roads. The beneficiaries will have to commit to use the maritime services during three years after the extinction of the scheme.
“Transferring road traffic to maritime transport is one of the measures to combat road congestion proposed by commission’s 2001 white paper on European transport policy,” the European Commission said.