European Commission orders Greece to recover incompatible aid from Piraeus Container Terminal

he European Commission has concluded that certain fiscal benefits granted by Greece in favour of port operator Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT) and its parent company Cosco Pacific Limited (Cosco) provided the beneficiaries with an undue advantage over their competitors in breach of EU state aid rules. These benefits include tax exemptions and preferential accounting treatment.

The companies now need to pay back the advantage received to the Greek state. To avoid further distortions of competition, the Greek authorities are also expected to cease granting these advantages to PCT from now on. The non-confidential version of the decision will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and made available under the case number SA.28876 in the State Aid Register on the competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Source: European Commission