Onderzoek naar Poolse staatssteun voor autofabrikant FSO (en)

The European Commission has opened a formal probe into the compatibility with EC Treaty state aid rules of a series of public authority measures for the restructuring of Fabryka Samochodow Osobowych S.A. (FSO ex DAEWOO). According to the Commission's preliminarily assessment, some of these measures have not been granted yet. EC Treaty state aid rules require Member States not to grant aids or subsidies which distort or threaten to distort competition within the EU's Single Market. The Commission will not examine several other aid measures granted by the Polish authorities before accession.

The Commission has decided to open a formal investigation into a number of state aid measures to restructure FSO. The Commission considers that the majority of the measures (of about €135 million) were not granted yet. These measures therefore have to be analysed by the Commission under the EC Treaty state aid rules, notably in the light of the 1999 Community Guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid. At this stage, the Commission has doubts that the current restructuring plan meets all conditions laid down in these guidelines. In particular, it has doubts that the measures of the restructuring plan are actually capable of restoring long-term viability of the firm within a reasonable timescale and that the aid is limited to the minimum necessary and does not unduly distort competition. It is requesting Poland to provide detailed information and inviting third parties to submit comments.

It is the first time that the Commission opens the formal investigation procedure on State aid measures notified by a new Member State which have not yet been granted.

Certain other aid measures (worth about €35 million) were actually granted before accession, according to the Commission's preliminary assessment, and so will not be examined by the Commission.

The Commission's preliminary assessment focused on determining whether the proposed aid measures fell into one of three categories:

• (a) were granted before accession but are not applicable after accession - these measures cannot be examined by the Commission either under the procedures laid down in Article 88 EC Treaty or under the Accession Treaty (Annex VI.3)
• (b) were granted before accession and are applicable after accession - these measures are subject to a lighter assessment under the so-called interim mechanism provided for in Annex IV.3 of the Accession Treaty and can become "existing aid" if found compatible with the common market or
• (c) were not granted before accession; these measures constitute new aid and the Commission assesses their compatibility with EC Treaty state aid rules.

In the present case all measures fall only under (a) or (c), as they have been either granted before accession and are not applicable after accession or have not been granted yet and therefore constitute new aid.

FSO is a large Polish producer of passenger cars and other mechanical vehicles, trailers, spare parts and accessories. It is located in Warsaw and employs more than 3000 people. The difficult economic situation of FSO started in 2000 mainly due to the bankruptcy of its biggest shareholder Daewoo Motor Corporation Ltd. The restructuring programme of the company includes cutting capacity and restructuring its activities.