Altmark

Altmark refers to a financing principle established by the European Court of Justice to ensure that state aid to public service companies, such as transport providers, is fair and justified. It stipulates that government compensation for providing public service obligations must be transparent, based on clear and pre-calculated costs, and should not give the company an unfair advantage over competitors. Essentially, Altmark sets criteria to confirm that government aid is only to cover genuine costs of public service tasks, preventing distortions in competition within the EU single market.