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P EUROPE
Page 9
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EU States no Longer need permission for green subsidies
THE EUROPEAN Commission has authorised the payment of national government subsidies to hauliers wanting to improve the environmental performance of their vehicles beyond standards required by European Union (EU) law.
In such cases, under new state aid rules issued by the Commission on 7 July, governments will be able to fund 35-55% of the cost of these additional improvements. Member states will not have to ask Brussels permission to issue these subsidies, as they have to now.
These rights will come into force within weeks. EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes says: "These new rules... allow member states to grant aid targeted at improving the environment without the Commission having to get involved at all."