Green light conditioned of the Antitrust to the acquisition of Tirrenia by CIN



The Guarantor Authority of the Competition and Market (AGCM) has given own green light conditioned to the acquisition of Tirrenia by Italian Company of Navigation (CIN), society controlled by Moby jointly to the Deep Hourglass. The authorization is subordinated to the introduction of relative measures to the price cutting, to the cession of routes, the escape of Moby from the route Torres Genoa-Port and to the cession of transport ability.

In particular, the Authority Antitrust has established that "by quickly, and for summery season 2013, to the passengers who must buy tickets, on the ships Tirrenia and Moby, the routes Civitavecchia - Olbia, Genoa - Olbia and Genoa - Porto Torres, will be recognized, without some quantitative limitation, except the availability of places on board, the following reductions in price and reductions of price: promotion "children": the children (of inferior age to the 12 years) accompanied from at least 2 adults travel to "rate zero"; promotion "car": in case of purchase of a ticket A/R, 50% of reduction in price on the price of the transport of the car to the continuation of the passengers; promotion "quadruple cabin", 10% of reduction in price on the price of the cabin; regarding the born people or residents in Sardinia and of the respective spouses and sons, reduction in price of 30% regarding the rates standard applied to nonresident and of 10% regarding the advertising rates applied to nonresident. By the reductions in price - she has specified the Antitrust - the relative member to straight taxes is excluded//burdens".

Moreover, "to clearly of the promotions, in summery season 2012, Moby and CIN/Tirrenia, for the routes Civitavecchia-Olbia, Genoa-Port Torres and Genoa - Olbia, they must apply tariff levels such to maintain the realized unitary medium revenue by Moby in summery season 2009 unchanged, when the prices were particularly in favor of the consumers, except a directed increment to neutralize the effects deriving from the variation of the average price of the fuel between 2009 and first trimester 2012. Analogous tariff politics will go put into effect also in 2013".

The AGCM has established that Moby must stop "to carry out the transport service goods on the route Livorno - Cagliari, against the eventual manifestation of interest to enter of a new operator" and that, in any case, Moby must stop "to operate on the Genoa route - Porto Torres where she will continue instead operating CIN/Tirrenia".

With respect to the cession of the transport ability, the provision of the Antitrust previews that, "for the summery seasons (june, July, August and september) 2013 and 2014, Moby and CIN/Tirrenia will have to yield to other operators 10% of the respective ability to mixed transport of passengers and goods each of the routes Civitavecchia - Olbia and Genoa - Olbia. Such ability to transport will have to be yielded by Moby and CIN/Tirrenia to a price reduced regarding the final rates practiced by the two societies. In this way - it has explained the authority - greater competition will be created on the final price practiced to the consumers. The cession procedure will have to be entrusted to a subject third independent one, whose chosen it will be approved of by the Authority, which will be informed also of the outcomes of the allocation of the transport ability".

At last the issolution of the agreements of tails has been tax sharing. "Moby and CIN/Tirrenia, in period 2012 - 2016 - have specified the AGCM - they do not have to stipulate, or they must cancel with immediate effect, the agreements of tails-sharing and any other type of agreement finalized to the commercialization of the travel titles that elapse with concurrent operators, or subjects to these riconducibili, relatively to the routes Civitavecchia-Olbia, Genoa-Port Torres and Genoa - Olbia".

While the EU commission has asked Italy to for services comply to the norms of the EU on the contracts regional publics of ferry, flying expired the terms of contracts in course, and to respect the principle not discrimination between the European shipowners. "Italy - Brussels has explained - has omitted to call contests for the award of three contracts publics of services managed from three regional companies of navigation in Campania, Lazio and Sardinia. The contracts have expired at the end of 2008 and are postponed automatically without procedures of contest for the allocation of new contracts. If Italy does not inform within two months the Commission with respect to the adopted measures in order to assure the full respect of the right of the Union, the Commission can boldness the Law court of the EU".

The EU commission has remembered that, in compliance with the regulations that have liberalized the marine cabotage (n. the 3577/92), Member States can conclude contracts of public service in order to supply to their islands the adapted services of navigation, but in this case they must respect the principle not discrimination between the European shipowners, and that such principle is respected if the contracts are adjudicated as a result of contest procedure. The Commission has emphasized that the current contracts for services of ferry in Campania, Lazio and Sardinia, "than technically have expired at the end of 2008, are postponed with various legislative dispositions without were indetta some procedure of contest by the Italian authorities. The services - Brussels has still remembered - are managed by the society of Caremar navigation in Campania, Laziomar in Lazio and Saremar in Sardinia; all and three pertaining to the former Tirrenia group. The Italian authorities have decided to arrange the publication of the notices of contest for the contracts publics with the privatization of the societies pertaining to the former Tirrenia group".

The Commission has found that "to afford the continuation of the current contracts it removes to other European societies of navigation the opportunity to offer to a public service and to the users the opportunity to make use of the improvements brought to the public service. A procedure of contest for the public service - it has observed Brussels - is particularly important in the Gulf of Naples in which various operators they are in competition with the Caremar society".