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The Commission made reference to the following statements: – A statement by the Romanian Prime Minister in a press article of 1 October 2012, in which he stated, inter alia, that he had to ‘explain today the reserve plan for resuming activities, saving jobs and preparing a new privatisation procedure, under very different, considerably improved conditions’, that ‘Oltchim’s restarting plan’ would shortly be presented, and that the authorities would formally open discussions with all of its main creditors for that purpose (recital 27 of the contested decision). That statement announces the start of the discussions which led to the adoption of the Memorandum approximately one and a half months later. It therefore has no content independent of the Memorandum itself; – A statement made by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy on 17 October 2012, in which he announced the partial reopening of the applicant and the Government’s intention to grant it rescue aid (recital 28 of the contested decision). However, that ‘rescue aid’ was not granted and is not, in any event, covered by the contested decision; – A statement made by the Minister for the Economy on 15 November 2012 in which he declared, in essence, that the idea of insolvency could be dismissed if a deal with Oltchim’s main creditors was concluded and announced the adoption of the Memorandum, which was signed eight days later, the purpose of which was, according to that statement, ‘to be able to restart, rescue, restructure Oltchim in a controlled manner, with the creditors’ agreement’ (recital 30 of the contested decision). The impact of that statement is limited, since, contrary to what that minister had just announced, insolvency proceedings were opened approximately two months later. Moreover, that statement merely announces the signature of the Memorandum and therefore has no independent content in relation to it; – Statements made by the leaders of the applicant’s trade union (recital 204(b) and footnote 72 to the contested decision). However, since these are not statements made by representatives of the State, they are irrelevant; – A press article of 26 January 2013, in which it is stated that the former Minister for the Economy had discussed the consequences of the failed privatisation of the applicant, stating, inter alia, that ‘entry into insolvency of Oltchim [would be] a chance [for] restructuring and [increasing the value] of the viable parts’, (recital 204(c) of the contested decision). That statement does not contain any commitment on the part of the State; – A press article of 29 March 2013, according to which, in essence, the Romanian Prime Minister stated that the Commission would not approve the grant of State aid to the applicant, that, for that reason, the applicant should obtain financing from banks and traders, and that the Government had an interest that ‘jobs are preserved’ (recital 204(d) of the contested decision). That statement indicates, contrary to what the Commission suggests, that the Member State concerned had no intention of granting State aid to the applicant. As for the fact that the Government ‘had an interest’ that jobs should be preserved, the Court sees no need to criticise it for that, and no evidence that the State was willing to grant aid to the applicant; – A statement by the Minister for the Economy dating from March 2013, in which he mentioned that his preference was to find a strategic investor in the applicant’s capital, which was more important than the sale price (recital 204(e) of the contested decision). That statement does not include any commitment on the part of the Romanian authorities; – A statement by the Minister for the Economy of 30 May 2013, in which he indicated that ‘beyond its brand, Oltchim [held] an important number of patents that [were] worth millions of euros’ and that ‘the destruction of this company was equivalent to the destruction of a treasury of intellectual property’ (recital 204(f) of the contested decision). That declaration does not, however, relate to the measures at issue; – A statement made by the Minister for the Economy on 9 July 2013, in which he stated, inter alia, that ‘solutions to save the [applicant could] be found’, that the applicant’s problem was ‘one of pride and national dignity’ and that it ‘[was] worth saving it’ (recital 204(g) of the contested decision). Although, admittedly, that statement suggests that the Romanian authorities wished to ‘save’ the applicant, it is merely a political declaration intended to reassure employees and, more generally, the public. Moreover, that statement does not contain any clear, specific, concrete and firm commitment on the part of the Romanian authorities to secure the adoption of the reorganisation plan, the scope of which was not yet known at the time of that declaration; – A statement from the Minister for the Economy dating from September 2013, in which he announced, in essence, that the applicant’s creditors would shortly approve ‘financing’, that it would obtain loans from private banks and that ‘Oltchim No 2’ would ‘at the end of September’ no longer have any debts (recital 204(h) of the contested decision). That statement appears to refer to private financing and does not contain any clear, precise, concrete and firm commitment on the part of the State. Furthermore, the fact that that minister decided ‘against the liquidation of large SOEs [(public undertakings)]’ is also merely a political declaration which does not involve any clear commitment on the part of the State; – A statement made by the Romanian Prime Minister on 19 February 2014, in which he urged the new Minister for the Economy to take over ‘the Oltchim problem’, adding that he ‘would not want the situation to explode … out of lack of political capacity’ (recital 204(i) of the contested decision). This statement is very general; – Statements made by the Minister for the Economy dating from 2014, according to which the applicant ‘[was] a company of national and strategic interest’, ‘the investors [were interested] in taking over Arpechim refinery as well’ and ‘Oltchim [would] never be closed’ (recital 204(j) of the contested decision). Although that last assertion might indeed suggest that the Romanian authorities wished to prevent the applicant’s closure, the fact remains that that statement is not sufficiently specific and concrete.