Spain: EC reviews possible illegal support for Copa América in Valencia

The General Directorate for Competition of the European Commission (DG Comp) has revealed that it will launch a probe into whether the support received from the State by the Consorcio Valencia 2007, Generalitat, and Valencia City Council for the organization of the Copa America Sailing tournament could have been an illegal state subsidy.

The Consortium, which currently manages Valencia’s Marina, is said to have received a loan with a public guarantee to pay for the infrastructure required for the competition, which has motivated the investigation. In particular, the EC questions whether the consortium has continued to receive public money after the end of the competition, and so has requested financial information and commercial activities.

In addition, the EC detailed the existence of potential competitors and complainants, considering that the commercial activity engaged by the Consortium “continues to record losses and receive illegal aid through capital contributions.”

For its part, the Consortium has denied the allegations, ensuring that the loans “were made under market conditions to generate the necessary infrastructures …” and that the subsequent exploitation of the infrastructure “is done under a competitive regime and in no case can it be considered as having State aid.”

Full Content: ABC

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