De Commissie geeft 28.7 miljoen aan Duitse Liebherr (en)

The European Commission i authorised, under EU state aid rules, €28.7 million of regional investment aid that Germany intends to grant in favour of Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH for the extension of its production facility for ship and offshore cranes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The project involves a total investment of €163.5 million and will create 500 new jobs in a region facing high structural unemployment. The Commission therefore concluded that the projects positive contribution to regional development outweighed any potential distortions of competition to be brought about by the aid.

“Liebherr's investment project will create 500 new jobs in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern without unduly distorting competition on the Internal Market." said Commission Vice President and Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia.

The Commission found that the project meets the requirements of the Regional Aid guidelines 2007-2013 (see IP/05/1653). In particular, the applicable regional aid ceiling for large investment projects is not exceeded, and the market shares of Liebherr on the global market for ship and offshore cranes remains below the 25% threshold after the implementation of the investment. As the growth of the sector is clearly faster than the GDP growth in the European Economic Area (EEA), the Commission concluded that the additional production capacity created by the project does not raise concerns in this case.

Liebherr MCCtec Rostock GmbH is an important producer of maritime cranes and port equipment in Europe. Other subsidiaries of the Liebherr Group producing maritime cranes are located in Austria, Great Britain and Ireland. The entire investment project amounts to €163.5 and will extend the ship and offshore cranes plant in Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, an area eligible for regional aid under Article 107(3)(a) of the EU Treaty as a region with an abnormally low standard of living and high unemployment.

The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number N 261/2009 in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.