EU warns Netherlands over rail rules

BRUSSELS:

The European Comm­ission on Monday said it warned the Netherlands that its rules for allocating slots on its main rail network may breach EU antitrust laws and called on the country to improve competition for

international rail passenger services.

The Commission said preliminary findings

suggest the rules, which give priority to state-owned Nederlandse Spoorwegen, could distort competition, particularly in international pas-senger services.

The EU sent a formal notice to the Dutch

authorities, saying

the measures may reinforce NS's dominant position. The Netherlands has two months to

respond.