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EU: Brussels launches first post-Brexit vote state aid probe into UK

By  |  September 19, 2016

The European Commission has launched its first full competition investigation into the UK since the Brexit vote, demonstrating that it still intends to hold Britain to account for breaking EU rules.

The subject of the probe is relatively obscure — whether a Portsmouth cargo handling company received illegal state support — but the action highlights the bigger legal and political questions that will arise as Britain negotiates its divorce with the union.

Acting on a complaint from a British rival, the commission investigators are looking at the financial support offered by Portsmouth City Council to MMD Shipping Service, a cargo company that it owns.

The case turns on allegations of soft loans, sweetheart crane leases and secret guarantees for a bank overdraft.

The commission said its probe will test “whether these measures provided MMD with an unfair advantage over its competitors, in breach of EU state aid rules.”

Full Content: Financial Times

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