4.12.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 318/9 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 21 June 2001 on the State aid awarded to the Tirrenia di Navigazione shipping company by Italy (notified under document number C(2001) 1684) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2001/851/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having, pursuant to the aforementioned Articles, called on interested parties to submit their comments (!), Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE Having received several complaints, the Commission decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the Treaty in respect of aid paid to six compa- nies in the Tirrenia Group, namely Tirrenia di Naviga- zione, Adriatica, Caremar, Saremar, Siremar and Toremar. This aid takes the form of subsidies paid directly to each of the companies in the group to support the maritime transport services those companies provide under six agreements concluded with the State in 1991; these agreements are designed to ensure the provision of maritime transport services, for the most part consisting of connections between mainland Italy, on the one hand, and Sicily, Sardinia and other, smaller [talian islands, on the other. By letter dated 6 August 1999, the Commission informed Italy that it had decided to initiate the proce- dure. By letter dated 28 September 1999, the Italian authorities forwarded their comments on this decision. () O] C 306, 23.10.1999, p. 2. () The Commission Decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communi- ties (?). Following that publication, a number of private operators who offer maritime transport services in competition with the companies of the Tirrenia Group forwarded their comments to the Commission. These comments were in turn forwarded to the Italian authori- ties to give them the opportunity to react. During the investigation procedure, the Italian authori- ties asked for the Tirrenia Group case to be split up so that a final decision concerning the Tirrenia di Naviga- zione company could be reached as a priority. This request was made on the grounds that the Italian author- ities wish to privatise the group, beginning with Tirrenia di Navigazione, and intend to speed up the process where this company is concerned. With regard to this request, the Commission first of all notes that, while Tirrenia di Navigazione assumes the role of group leader with respect to the group's financial and commercial strategy, the six member companies are legally independent and operate in geographically distinct market segments which are subject to varying degrees of competition, both from private Italian opera- tors and from operators from other Member States. In addition, the subsidies paid by the Italian authorities under the agreements referred to in recital 1 are calcu- lated to cover the net operating loss on the routes served by each of the abovementioned companies and are awarded directly to those companies without going through Tirrenia di Navigazione. Finally, the other parts of the aid referred to in the initiation of the procedure (® See footnote 1.