The European Commission has decided not to raise objections to the concession agreement concluded by the Greek Government concerning the construction of the Thessaloniki submerged tunnel. The agreement includes EUR 96 million of State financing. The financing of infrastructure through State resources does not constitute State aid if the infrastructure remains public property, is open without discrimination to all users and does not confer an advantage to any category of users. The Commission concluded that the concession agreement follows this principle in that State financing was limited to the lowest price offered in a competitive procedure for award of the contract. The Thessaloniki submerged tunnel aims to alleviate congestion in the historic city centre whilst linking the populated south-east metropolitan area with the economically strong north-west area.