Juridische stappen tegen België en Italië: staatssteun voor steden moet worden teruggevorderd (en)

The European Commission has decided to bring proceedings before the Court of Justice against Italy and Belgium for failing to comply with two decisions declaring aid incompatible and ordering it to be recovered.

In the case of Italy, the decision of 20 October 2004 found that the aid granted to firms carrying out investment in municipalities affected by natural disasters in 2002 was incompatible and had to be recovered from the recipients (see IP/04/1253).

In the case of Belgium the decision of 24 April 2002 declared the aid granted by the Walloon authorities to Beaulieu to be incompatible and ordered that it be recovered from the recipient (see IP/02/608). In neither case has any of the aid been recovered. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the cases to the Court to have its decisions enforced.

Competitions Commissioner Neelie Kroes i stated "I intend to take a very strict line with Member States that do not comply with Commission decisions on state aid. This is essential for the credibility of our state aid policy".

This strict approach is fully in line with the State Aid Action Plan presented by the Commission in June 2005 (see IP/05/680), one aim of which is to ensure the effectiveness and credibility of state aid control by means of proper application of the Commission's decisions.

In accordance with the rules governing the recovery of illegal aid, Italy and Belgium were to take all steps available under national law to secure immediate and effective application of the Commission's decision and so restore fair competition. As no aid has been recovered to date the Commission has decided to refer the cases to the Court of Justice.

The action against Italy

Over a year after the decision the Commission has found that Italy has neither suspended the aid scheme nor recovered the aid granted to firms carrying out investment in municipalities affected by natural disasters in 2002. To date Italy has considered only preliminary measures, but no concrete action has been taken to recover the aid from the recipients.

On 20 October 2004 the Commission took a negative decision on an aid scheme adopted by Italy in 2002 (the Tremonti bis law). The aim was to grant aid to firms carrying out investment in municipalities affected in 2002 by natural disasters such as the eruptions of Etna in the province of Catania, or the floods that affected many regions of the country.

After a formal investigation the Commission came to the conclusion that the scheme was not compatible with the EC Treaty because the amount of aid could in certain cases have exceeded the damage caused by the disasters. For that reason Article 87(2)(b) of the EC Treaty, which allows the Commission to approve aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters, did not apply. The Commission therefore decided that the Italian authorities had to recover aid that was not lawful. Notwithstanding the decision, some individual grants of aid under the scheme might satisfy the conditions to be considered compatible.

The action against Belgium

In the case of Belgium the Commission has noted that the legal proceedings brought by Belgium to enforce the decision have not secured repayment of €2.8 million in aid granted to Beaulieu (Ter Lembeek International), even though three and a half years have now passed since the Commission decision.

In particular the Commission points out that the appeal against the Commission decision by the beneficiary before the Community Court of First Instance (Case T-217/02) did not have the effect of suspending the obligation to repay imposed by the decision. It is therefore for the national authorities and the national courts to take the necessary steps to secure immediate and effective application of the Commission's decision and so restore fair competition.

In this instance the national court de facto rendered the Commission decision unenforceable by ordering the suspension of proceedings pending the verdict of the Community Court, without requiring the beneficiary to repay at once the aid granted illegally.

On 24 April 2002 the Commission took a negative decision on the aid granted by Belgium to the Beaulieu group by waiving a claim of €2.8 million excluding interest. Beaulieu is a Belgian holding company covering a group of companies active in the carpets and synthetic fibres sector.