EU Rejects Italian Aid for Cruise Ship Extension

The European Commission said it has rejected a request from the Italian government to aid an extension of the delivery of a cruise ship at the Fincantieri shipyard. The commission said that as it is 'clear' from the contract in 2000 that delivery of the ship within three years was not feasible, it has denied the extension on grounds the measure breaches EU aid rules. The EU executive has already authorised extensions for four previous ships at the same shipyard, under a derogation from an EU-wide ban on operating aid for shipbuilding since December 2000. Total Italian aid for all five ships amounts to 9 pct of the shipbuilding contracts. The derogation applies to contracts signed before the end of 2000 and implemented before the end of 2003. Source: AFX News