“Driving” Altmark in Land Transport

I. Introduction Aid to companies entrusted with public service obligations (PSO) has become an issue of controversy for many years. The Altmark ruling, however, has provided guidance in a case that involved aid granted to companies required by law to provide public transport services. This ruling laid down four cumulative criteria in order for compensation for PSO not to constitute State aid and thus be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) TFEU.1 These criteria apply in order to examine the existence of State aid. If any of these criteria is not met then aid is considered present. The next step is to examine whether public funding is granted in compliance with Article 9...