WRITTEN QUESTION E-2979/97 by Christoph Konrad (PPE) to the Commission (1 October 1997)

Subject: List of current disputes between the Federal Republic of Germany (especially the 'new Länder') and the Commission (DG IV) over competition

1. What state aid granted by the Federal Republic of Germany to German enterprises is currently being examined by the Commission?

2. Precisely what is being examined, and to what complaint is the Commission reacting, or is the examination being undertaken on the Commission's own initiative?

3. What is the ratio of cases of state aid in the 'new Länder' to such cases in the 'old Länder'?

4. What trend both in the level of financial assistance and in the number of cases can be deduced from the examination procedures, especially in respect of state aid in the 'new Länder', in recent years?

5. How does the Commission intend to reduce the number of cases in which state aid is granted in the 'new Länder' to an acceptable level, and what agreements have been reached with Federal German Government to this end?

6. What is the position of the other Member States of the European Union on this situation?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (29 October 1997)

1. The Commission is currently examining 59 cases to establish whether aid provided by Germany is compatible with the single market. This does not include aid programmes or aid in the agricultural, fisheries or transport sector. Of those cases 43 concern the new Länder and 16 the old Länder. Proceedings under Article 93(2) of the EC Treaty were initiated in a total of 23 cases, of which 17 related to the new Länder and 6 to the old Länder.

2. Some of the cases in which proceedings have been initiated are included on a list sent to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat. The subject of each investigation is indicated. The Commission is responding both to complaints from competitors of the firms receiving aid and to media reports.

3. In answering this question, the number of cases in which a decision had already been taken in 1997 were used as an indicator. Altogether, 51 decisions in 1997 related to the new Länder and 14 to the old Länder.

4. A detailed evaluation is needed to answer this question. Prior to 31 December 1995 a succession of different 'Treuhand' arrangements applied. Because of such blanket authorisation the Commission dealt with only the most important cases, which were few in number. It should be noted that the number of cases is increasing. In the first seven months of 1997 the Commission adopted almost six times as many decisions as in the whole of 1995. The level of aid, on the other hand, is falling. In this connection, however, the statistics are affected by important individual cases, such as the BUNA case in 1995, which involved almost DM 10 billion in aid. In 1997 the Commission took decisions on aid to the new Länder amounting to DM 3.18 billion.

5. Since 1 January 1996 the Commission has applied the general rules on aid to the new Länder. A large number of extra staff have been needed both by the Commission and by the German Government to deal with the increased work load.

6. The other Member States have not been consulted on this matter. However, the Commission is able to conclude from its own experience that, generally speaking, the other Member States support its action and proposals.