EU Regulators Order Cosco to Pay for Greek Benefits
European Union state aid regulators have ordered Greece to recover certain illegal fiscal benefits granted to Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) and its parent company Cosco Pacific Ltd, says a report in Reuters.
The European Commission found that Greece inappropriately granted tax benefits to Piraeus Container Terminal (PTC) and its parent company Cosco. These include preferential accounting treatment.
The money must be paid back to the Greek state. The Commission also said Greek authorities are expected to stop granting these advantages to PTC and Cosco from now on.
"The companies now need to pay back the advantage received to the Greek state. To avoid further distortions of competition, the Greek authorities are also expected to cease granting these advantages to PCT from now on," the Commission said.
PCT runs cargo operations at the Port of Piraeus, and is currently expanding operations with the construction of a third pier. COSCO was a bidder in a process to privatize the Piraeus port authority that was recently halted by the new government.
Meanwhile, Greek Deputy Prime Minister Ioannis Dragasakis will visit China this week, Beijing's foreign ministry announced Monday, as concerns over the cash-strapped country's financial crisis intensify.
China has developed close economic ties with Greece. Chinese shipping giant COSCO has a 35-year concession managing the two main container terminals at the port of Piraeus, one of the busiest harbors in the Mediterranean.
Visiting Piraeus in June last year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the port could become “a Chinese gateway to Europe.”
