European Commission Spokesperson Christian Spahr said Thursday that, under EU rules, the concessionary party is responsible for security on highways.
The clarification comes after the Italian government said it would strip highways company highways company Autostrade per l'Italia of its concession after Tuesday's bridge-collapse disaster in Genoa.
The company has said it is confident it can show it respected the conditions of its concession for the Genoa highway, saying it carried out regular maintenance and safety checks.
"As regards the responsibility for security of the road infrastructure on the Trans-European transport network (TENT), in the case that it is managed by a private operator, it is the concessionary that has the responsibility for the security and maintenance of the road," Spahr said, adding that the collapsed Morandi bridge was part of this network.
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