Kroes tikt Italiaanse provincie Bolzano op de vingers voor uitvoering steunregelingen (en)

The European Commission has decided that the implementation criteria for aid measures granted by the Province of Bolzano in Italy were contrary to EC Treaty state aid rules (Article 88(3)). Aid granted under the scheme was therefore misused and must be recovered. However, new implementing rules which bring the scheme into line with the state aid rules have been approved by the Commission, thus allowing the scheme to continue to exist but in an amended form.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes i commented: "With this decision, the Commission has underlined Member States' obligation to comply with EU state aid rules, while at the same time signalling our readiness to work with them to reinforce the application of these rules throughout the EU".

The case arose from a complaint made in 2002, alleging the granting of illegal aid to undertakings established in the Province of Bolzano. The subsequent investigation identified the implementing law as Provincial Law no. 4/97, which establishes several aid measures with different aims such as investment or employment.

Provincial Law n° 4/97 was cleared by the Commission in 1997 as a compatible state aid scheme. However, the aid measures it contained were later implemented through criteria adopted without prior notification to the Commission. The Commission's investigation found that these criteria were incompatible with both the state aid rules in force at the time and the current rules, in particular as regards the eligibility of large companies to receive investment aid outside assisted areas.