98/182/EC: Commission Decision of 30 July 1997 concerning aid granted by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region (Italy) to road haulage companies in the Region (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 1997-07-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, State aid, control of State aid, infringement of EU law, road transport, transport company

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 30 July 1997

concerning aid granted by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region (Italy) to road
haulage companies in the Region

(Only the Italian text is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(98/182/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of
Article 93(2) thereof,

Having given the interested parties notice to submit their
to the abovementioned Article (1),
comments pursuant

Whereas:

I

The Commission first became aware of the existence of
Regional Law No 4 of 7 January 1985 of the Italian
Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (hereinafter referred to as
‘Law No 4/85') through another aid case. As the aid
scheme provided for by that law had never been notified
to the Commission under Article 93(3) of the Treaty, it
was regarded as a case of non-notified aid.

On 29 September 1995 the Commission wrote asking the
Italian authorities for further information. By fax of 27
October 1995 the Italian authorities asked for an exten-
sion of the time allowed for replying to the letter. This
was agreed to by the Commission on 9 November 1995.
A reply was received after the prescribed period in two
letters dated 10 January 1996 registered at the Direct-
for Transport on 11 January 1996.
orate-General

(1) OJ C 98, 26. 3. 1997, p. 16.

those

However,
incomplete
information about the aid scheme introduced by Law No
4/85.

contained only

letters

In response to a letter dated 30 May 1996 from the
Italian authorities, the Commission, in a letter dated 19
June 1996, again pointed out that not all the information
requested in the letter dated 29 September 1995 had
been provided, in particular as regards the text of Law No
4/85. A meeting was held in Brussels on 18 July 1996
between the Commission and the Italian authorities, at
which the text of Law No 4/85 was finally commun-
icated. On 18 November 1996 the Commission received
further information relating to another aid case, but
which also directly concerned the aid in question.

On 13 February 1997 a meeting was held between the
Italian authorities and the Commission, at which the
former again referred to the specific problems facing
regional hauliers. They also presented the draft restruc-
turing plan for road haulage in the Region, the outline of
which was contained in the report sent in November
1996.

the Commission
By letter dated 14 February 1997,
informed the Italian Government of
its decision to
initiate a procedure against the aid scheme for commer-
cial road hauliers in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region.

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to
The Commission invited the Italian authorities
comment on that decision and informed the other
Member States and interested parties by publishing the
letter (1)
the European
Communities.

in the Official Journal of

The Italian authorities sent their comments in a letter
dated 27 March 1997, registered at the Commission on 3
April 1997. The Commission did not receive comments
from any third party.

II

Law No 4/85 replaces the scheme introduced in 1981 by
Regional Law No 28/81, but most of the information that
the Commission has relates to the Law No 4/85. The two
aid schemes, which are aimed at promoting the develop-
ment of the commercial road haulage sector in the Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Region, comprise the following three
measures:

Article 4 provides for a reduction of interest of up to
60 % (70 % in the case of associated undertakings) on
loans of less than 10 years’ duration aimed at developing
is, premises for ware-
companies’
housing, storage and handling of goods, and fixed and
mobile equipment.

infrastructure,

that

According to the Italian authorities’
report of 18
November 1996, the budget for the period 1985 to 1995
was ITL 13 000 million (ECU 6,7 million), 155 applica-
tions were accepted and the average rate of subsidies
actually granted ranged from 13 % to 26 % of the total
cost of the loans and interest. The budget for the period
1981 to 1985, under the previous aid scheme, was ITL
930 million (ECU 0,4 million) and 14 applications were
accepted.

and computer

Article 5 provides for financing the cost of leasing new
technology, where they are
vehicles
acquired through leases of three or five years duration.
Up to 25 % of
the cost of purchasing the goods is
covered (30% in the case of cooperatives and consor-
tiums). Regional Law No 3/88 subsequently reduced the
maximum to 20% for all beneficiaries and it was reduced
to 15 % by Regional Law No 2/89.

1995 was ITL 23 300 million (ECU 11,8 million). During
that period, 1 691 applications were accepted and the
average financing rate was around 19 %. In 1993, 83
applications were accepted and the average financing rate
was restricted to 10 %. Under the previous scheme, ITL
5 790 million (ECU 2,9 million) was granted in subsidies,
for a total of 305 applications.

Article 6 of Law No 4/1985 provides for the financing of
up to 50 % of the cost of operating and replacing fixed
and mobile equipment for cooperatives and consortia.
The investment must be intended for the construction or
purchase of facilities or equipment needed to fulfil the
aims of the cooperative or consortium, or must contribute
to the operation and development of service centres for
housing, maintenance and repair of vehicles, or to related
facilities and equipment. According to the limited in-
formation received from the Italian authorities, grants
have been made for investment in company headquarters,
and for lorry and trailer parks, offices, swap-bodies and
warehousing premises.

Following initiation of the procedure, the Italian author-
ities reported that aid for investment in combined trans-
port equipment had been granted under Article 6 of Law
No 4/85. According to that information, between 10 %
and 15 % of the total subsidies granted under the scheme
was for the purchase of swap-bodies and corresponding
attachment devices for intermodal vehicles and semi-
trailers.

According to the abovementioned report, a budget of ITL
1 074 million (ECU 0,5 million) was committed for the
period 1985-1995 and 14 applications were accepted, the
average financing rate being 32 %. For the scheme intro-
duced by Law No 28/81 the budget was ITL 480 million
(ECU 0,2 million) for a total of 23 applications accepted.

On several occasions the Italian authorities stressed that,
although budgets are indeed scheduled up to the year
2004 for financing of interest payments and up to 1999
for leasing transactions,
the granting of subsidies has
been suspended since 1995 following the Commission’s
comments on the aid scheme established by that law.

According to the Italian authorities’ report of November
1996, the budget for this measure for the period 1985 to

(1) OJ C 98, 26. 3. 1997, p. 16.

Potential beneficiaries of the aid scheme are commercial
haulage companies, cooperatives and companies asso-
ciated as cooperatives or consortia which are registered in
the register of road hauliers for Friuli-Venezia Giulia and
registered with the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Regional

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Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Craft Trades and Agri-
culture. Potential beneficiaries of the measures set out in
Article 6 of Law No 4/85 are transport cooperatives and
consortia which have their
registered office in the
Region, and also any affiliated companies whose regis-
tered office may be outside the Region, provided they do
not comprise more than 20% of the associates.

2 202 applications have been accepted since 1981, the
majority of them (over 80%, according to the Italian
authorities)
firms possessing a single
vehicle and involved solely in local or regional transport.

from very small

III

cabotage was

closed to Community
Road haulage
competition until 1 July 1990, when Council Regulation
(EEC) No 4059/89 of 21 December 1989 entered into
force. That Regulation laid down the conditions under
which non-resident carriers can operate national road
haulage services within a Member State (1), and intro-
duced cabotage quotas,
Italy being allocated 1 767
authorisations.

That Regulation was replaced by Council Regulation
(EEC) No 3118/93 (2), which is currently in force, which
set 1 July 1998 as the date for full liberalisation of cab-
otage operations, established a transitional period as of 1
January 1994 and set an initial Community-wide quota
of 30 000 authorisations, to be increased annually by
30 %.

or from the territory of a Member State or passing across
the territory of one or more Member States (4). The
market has thus been fully open to competition since 1
January 1993.

According to the report received by the Commission on
18 November 1996, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region
there are approximately 31 700 own-account hauliers
compared with 3 250 commercial haulage companies;
however,
load
capacity is 56 %.

the latter’s share of

the total regional

Following initiation of the procedure, the Italian author-
ities stated that in 1993 international road haulage opera-
tions carried out by carriers from Friuli-Venezia Giulia
represented 4 % of
total haulage in Italy (based on
tonnage; the figure is 16 % calculated on the basis of
tonne-kilometres). International haulage operations where
the Region was the point of departure or destination
represented only 5,4 % (in tonnes) of all transport opera-
tions in the Region carried out by regional, national and
foreign carriers. Expressed in tonne-kilometres the figure
would probably be greater (5).

IV

Article 92 of the Treaty states that aid granted by a
Member State or through State resources in any form
whatsoever which distorts or
to distort
competition by favouring certain undertakings or the
production of certain goods is, in so far as it affects trade
between Member States, incompatible with the common
market. This concept of aid therefore calls for analysis of
three fundamental factors: use of State resources, distor-
tion of competition and effect on trade.

threatens

Between 1990 and 1993, 14% of Community road cab-
otage operations in tonne-kilometre terms was carried out
in Italy, which means that it was the second most attrac-
tive country in the Community for Community carriers.

V

The international road haulage market has been open to
Community competition since 1969, when Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1018/68 of 19 July 1968 on the
establishment of a Community quota for the carriage of
goods by road between Member States (3) entered into
force, although even before that date there were a number
of bilateral agreements between Member States. Participa-
tion in international haulage was subject to Community
quotas until the adoption of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 881/92 of 26 March 1992 on access to the market in
the carriage of goods by road within the Community to

(1) OJ L 390, 30. 12. 1989, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 279, 12. 11. 1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 175, 23. 7. 1968, p. 13.

The concept of State aid applies just as much to aid
granted by regional or local authorities as it does to aid
granted by central authorities of a Member States (6). In
the present case, Article 1 of Regional Law No 4/85 and
Article 1 of Regional Law No 28/81 explicitly authorize
the regional authorities to allocate funds to road haulage
companies with the aim of promoting and developing
the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region. The funds are therefore
State resources within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the
Treaty.

(4) OJ L 95, 9. 4. 1992, p. 1.
(5) Data obtained from an article on road haulage operations in
1993 published in the July-September 1995 issue of the quar-
terly review Sistemi di Trasporto.

(6) Judgments of the Court of Justice in Case C-323/82 Inter-
mills v. Commission [1984] ECR 3809 and in Case C-284/84
Germany v. Commission [1987] ECR 4013.

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VI

the

In initiating the procedure, the Commission contended
that
aid scheme may produce distortion of
competition, since it seeks to improve the competitive
position of commercial road haulage companies in the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region by reducing their normal
business running costs, whereas such costs have to be
borne in full by their competitors, namely own-account
hauliers and commercial haulage companies outside the
Region.

In their letter dated 27 March 1997, the Italian authori-
ties emphasised the huge costs which regional carriers
have had to meet in order to adapt their fleets to environ-
mental protection requirements
imposed by neigh-
bouring Austria, which has greatly benefited carriers in
that country, especially vis-a-vis carriers from the neigh-
bouring Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region. They also made
enjoyed by
reference
favourable
Austrian carriers as compared to Italian carriers
in
general, and to those of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in partic-
ular, arising from the fact that, prior to its accession to
the European Union in 1994, Austria was able to grant
considerable State aid to its carriers without conditions,
leading to an imbalance in the market in their favour.

conditions

to the

The Italian authorities also argued that the carriers of the
Region are at a disadvantage as compared with carriers
from Slovenia and Croatia, since the latter countries can
freely intervene in the transport sector as they are not
subject to the rules on State aid. According to the Italian
authorities, that unfavourable situation for the Region of
Friuli-Venezia Giulia justifies their request to continue
with short-term aid measures, in order to prevent the
sector
It
would appear from this that the Italian authorities thus
regard the subsidies not as aid but rather as compensation
for the disadvantages in question.

from becoming completely uncompetitive.

the Court of Justice has confirmed (see in
However,
particular its judgment
in Joined Cases 6 and 11/69
Commission v. France (2)) that disparities in legislation
giving rise to distortions of competition cannot be
regarded as justifying compensatory State aid.

The Commission considers that even if distortions did
indeed exist as a result of external factors, all Community
carriers would have been on an equal competitive footing
as regards such distortions and that they cannot therefore
serve to justify the introduction of an aid scheme which
the
between
distorts
Community. Also, the current competition conditions for
transport operations carried out in Italy by Croatian and
Slovenian carriers are governed by bilateral agreements
between Italy and those third countries, including prac-
tical measures for the monitoring of the agreements.

carriers within

competition

However, account must be taken of the fact that Austria,
as a member of the EEA, has been subject to Community
rules on State aid, as transposed in the EEA Agreement,
since 1994; furthermore, even prior to its accession, a
number of agreements were made between the member
countries of EFTA and the Community, which have
included rules in this sector since 1972.

The Commission considers that the aid therefore benefits
operators engaged in a specific activity (namely commer-
cial road haulage) in a specific Region, by reducing the
normal business running costs in such a way as to
engender a distortion of competition.

As regards the information given by the Italian author-
ities relating to Austrian legislation, it transpires that this
is a reference to the system of transit rights (ecopoints),
set up under the Agreement of 2 May 1992 between the
European Community and the Republic of Austria on
transit of goods by rail and road. It is not, therefore, a
unilateral measure imposed by Austria, but rather an
agreement approved by Council Decision 92/577/EEC of
27 November 1992 concerning the conclusion of the
Agreement between the Community and the Republic of
Austria on the transit of goods by road and rail (1), which
affects all Member States, and whereby certain advantages
are conferred on Italy due to its proximity to Austria.

VII

Furthermore, commercial road haulage companies in the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region are in competition with
road haulage companies from the rest of Italy and from
other countries, as well as with own-account hauliers.

The Italian authorities asked for the de minimis rule to
be applied, since the subsidies involved are relatively
small. However, the Community guidelines on aid to

(1) OJ L 373, 21. 12. 1992, p. 4.

(2)

[1969] ECR 523.

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SMEs and the de minimis rule were not adopted until
1992 (1), were modified in 1996 (2), and, in accordance
with point 2.2 of those guidelines, are not applicable to
the transport sector since there are specific rules on
competition in that sector.

A distinction must be made between companies exclu-
sively engaged in transport operations
at national,
regional or local level, and those engaged in international
transport.

The former are in competition with other Italian carriers
and with Community carriers engaged in cabotage in
Italy.

However, it must be taken into account that before Regu-
lation (EEC) No 4059/89 entered into force, the national
haulage market was
to Community
not
competition, as explained above. In view of the absence
the granting of aid to
of Community competition,
companies exclusively engaged in transport operations at
national, regional or local level could not have had any
effect on intra-Community trade.

open

The Commission therefore considers that the subsidies
granted between 1981 and 1 July 1990 under Regional
Laws No 28/81 and No 4/85 to transport companies in
Friuli-Venezia Giulia exclusively engaged in transport
operations at national, regional or local
level do not
constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of
the Treaty.

However, aid granted to commercial road haulage com-
panies in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region from the date
on which Regulation (EEC) No 4059/89 entered into
force,
is from 1 July 1990 onwards, are to be
regarded as State aid within the meaning of Article 92 of
the Treaty, since it may have affected trade between
Member States.

that

Following initiation of the procedure, the Italian author-
ities stated that over 80 % of beneficiaries were very
small
firms possessing a single vehicle and involved
solely in local or regional transport. Nevertheless, because
the local
of cabotage,
nature of the activity cannot be taken as a criterion for
ruling out any effect on trade, even though cabotage is
subject to quotas.

the Commission considers that

According to the Italian authorities, hauliers from the
Region play only a very small part in international trans-
port operations, and can therefore be regarded as having
little significant effect on competition in this sector. The
Commission, however, considers that the limited nature
of the competition cannot preclude the application of
Article 92(1) of the Treaty to the road haulage sector.

Where the position of companies in a particular sector
involved in trade between Member States is strengthened,
this trade must be considered to be affected within the
meaning of Article 92(1) of the Treaty. The aid provided
for under Laws No 4/85 and No 28/81 strengthens the
financial position and hence the scope of commercial
haulage companies in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region
vis-a-vis their competitors since 1 July 1990 for com-
panies engaged in national transport and since 1969 for
companies engaged in international transport and may
accordingly affect trade between Member States.

VIII

Since some of
in favour of
the financial measures
commercial road haulage companies thus constitute aid
within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the Treaty, it must
be considered whether any of the derogations provided
for in Articles 77, 92 and 93 of the Treaty apply.

Article 3(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70
of 4 June 1970 on the granting of aid for transport by
rail, road and inland waterway (3), as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 543/97 (4), authorises such aid ‘until
the entry into force of Community rules on access to the
transport market, where aid is granted as an exceptional
and temporary measure in order to eliminate, as part of a
reorganisation plan, excess capacity causing serious struc-
tural problems, and thus to contribute towards meeting
more effectively the needs of the transport market'.

The Italian authorities stated, in their response to the
initiation of the procedure, that there is no problem of
excess capacity in the haulage sector in the Friuli-Venezia
Giulia Region, but rather an undercapacity in vehicle
fleets of about 20 % as compared to real needs (cid:190) in
other words, an excessive workload is being placed on
existing equipment and personnel in the Region, with a
potentially adverse impact on safety.

Companies
from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region
engaged in international transport have since 1969 been
in competition with other Italian companies involved in
the same activity.

The Commission therefore considers that the aid in ques-
tion is not covered by the exemption set out in Article
3(1)(d) of the above Regulation, since it is not part of any

(1) OJ C 213, 19. 8. 1992, p. 2.
(2) OJ C 213, 23. 7. 1996, p. 4, and OJ C 68, 6. 3. 1996, p. 9.

(3) OJ L 130, 15. 6. 1970, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 84, 26. 3. 1997, p. 6.

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reorganisation plan for the sector within the meaning of
that provision, and it is not in response to excess capacity
in the sector. The conditions for applying that provision
are therefore not fulfilled.

the conditions for exemption outlined above, aimed at
encouraging the development of combined transport.

In their response to the initiation of the procedure, the
Italian authorities argued that the vehicle fleets in the
Region are very old, giving rise to detrimental effects as
regards atmospheric pollution, noise and safety. This
requires a financial input for vehicle replacement, which
the operators in the sector would have difficulty in
providing. The Italian authorities also maintained that
the granting of aid for fleet replacement was apparently
not disallowed by the Commission in the past, as
evidenced by its answer to parliamentary question No
E/1883/96.

The Commission considers that subsidies for vehicle
leasing constitute aid of a type which is difficult to recon-
cile with the common market, notably because it involves
an increase in capacity, which is contrary to the spirit of
Article 3(1)(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70. Further-
more,
the Commission’s answer to the parliamentary
question cited by the Italian authorities confined itself to
stating that any such aid must be submitted for Commis-
sion approval, pursuant to Article 93 of the Treaty, which
does not in any way imply that the Commission would
be in favour of aid for vehicle replacement.

As mentioned above, between 10 % and 15 % of the
subsidies were for the financing of combined transport
equipment. Provided such subsidies are of a temporary
nature and are aimed at encouraging the development of
combined transport, they are exempt under Regulation
(EEC) No 1107/70, as amended by Regulations (EEC) No
1658/82 (1) and No 1100/89 (2) in the case of aid granted
up to 31 December 1992, and under Regulation (EEC)
No 1107/70, as amended by Regulations (EEC) No 3578/
92 (3) and (EC) No 543/97 in the case of aid granted after
that date, insofar as they concern investment in transport
equipment specifically adapted for, and used solely for,
combined transport.

The aid for combined transport under the scheme set up
by Laws No 28/81 and No 4/85 was for the purchase of
swap-bodies and corresponding attachment devices for
intermodal vehicles and semi-trailers. This aid thus fulfils

(1) OJ L 184, 29. 6. 1982, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 116, 28. 4. 1989, p. 24.
(3) OJ L 364, 12. 12. 1992, p. 11.

The Commission therefore considers that such aid may
benefit from the exemption provided for in Article 3(1)(e)
of Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 until 31 December
1997.

The Commission considers that the exemptions under
Article 92(2)(a) and (b), and Article 92(3)(b) and (d) of the
Treaty are not applicable in this case, because the aid in
question cannot be regarded as aid of a social character
granted to individual consumers, aid to make good the
damage caused by natural disasters or other exceptional
occurrences, aid towards a project of common European-
interest, and is not aid to promote culture and heritage
conservation.

Article 92(3)(a) and (c) provide for exemptions for aid to
promote the economic development of certain areas. The
Italian authorities stated in their letter in response to the
initiation of the procedure that two-thirds of the Region’s
territory is in areas of industrial decline (Objective 2) or
less-favoured areas (Objective 5b).

First, however, the planned aid is not part of a regional
development plan covering all sectors of the Region’s
economy, but rather is a purely sectoral measure affecting
only the commercial road haulage sector in the Friuli-
Venezia Giulia Region; secondly, not all the territory in
the Region is in areas qualifying for the exemptions. The
Commission therefore considers that
the exemptions
under Article 92(3)(a) and (c) are not applicable in this
case.

The exemption provided for in Article 92(3)(c) of the
Treaty applies to aid aimed at facilitating the develop-
ment of certain economic activities, where this does not
adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary
to the common interest. However, aid for leasing vehicles
as referred to in Article 5 of Law No 4/85 is operating
aid, which, according to the judgment of the Court of
First Instance in Case T-459/93 Siemens v. Commis-
sion (4), is aid which is intended to relieve an under-
taking of expenses it would normally have to bear in its
day-to-day management or its usual activities, and there-
fore is not in principle covered by the abovementioned
Article 92(3).

(4)

[1995] ECR II-1679.

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Article 2

The subsidies not covered by Article 1 of this Decision
constitute aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the
Treaty and are illegal since they were introduced in
breach of Article 93(3).

Article 3

for

subsidies

financing equipment

specifically
The
adapted for, and used solely for, combined transport
constitute aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the
Treaty but are compatible with the common market by
virtue of Article 3(1)(e) of Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70.

Article 4

The subsidies granted from 1 July 1990 onwards to
companies engaged in transport operations at a local,
regional or national level and to companies engaged in
transport operations at an international level are incom-
patible with the common market since they do not fulfil
any of
the conditions for derogation provided for in
Article 92(2) and (3) of the Treaty, or the conditions
provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70.

Article 5

Italy shall abolish and recover the aid referred to in
Article 4. The aid shall be reimbursed in accordance with
the provisions of domestic law, together with interest,
calculated by applying the reference rates used for assess-
ment of regional aid, as from the date on which the aid
is
was granted and ending on the date on which it
actually repaid.

Article 6

Italy shall inform the Commission within two months of
the date of notification of this Decision of the measures
taken to comply with it.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic

Done at Brussels, 30 July 1997.

For the Commission

Emma BONINO

Member of the Commission

Furthermore, such an exemption cannot apply to the
scheme under review since the latter involves measures
which are not accompanied by any action aimed at an
objective of common interest, such as a restructuring
plan. While the Italian authorities did indeed make refer-
ence to restructuring the sector in their reply to the
initiation of the procedure, that related to future restruc-
turing and rationalization plans for the sector, which they
plan to implement through new legislative aid measures
for the Region.

Lastly, the Italian authorities have not claimed or demon-
strated that the aid fulfils the conditions for any other
derogation provided for in the Treaty or in Regulation
(EEC) No 1107/70.

road haulage companies

In view of the foregoing, the Commission considers that
aid granted under Laws No 28/81 and No 4/85 to
in the Friuli-
commercial
transport
Venezia Giulia Region engaged in national
operations from 1 July 1990 onwards, as well as for those
engaged in international transport operations, is incom-
patible with the common market within the meaning of
Article 92 of the Treaty.

IX

Under Article 93(3) of the Treaty, such aid should have
been notified to the Commission in good time. Since the
Italian Government implemented the aid scheme without
having fulfilled this obligation, the scheme should be
regarded as illegal.

In initiating the procedure, as communicated to the
Italian authorities in its letter dated 14 February 1997, the
Commission drew their attention to the Commun-
ication (1) reminding Member States that any aid illegally
granted is liable to be the subject of a Commission
decision requiring the Member State to recover it. Such
action is considered necessary by the Commission in this
instance in order
to restore the fair conditions of
competition which existed before the aid was granted,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Subsidies granted under Laws No 28/1981 and No 4/
the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region (hereinafter
1985 of
referred to as ‘the subsidies') up to 1 July 1990 to com-
panies exclusively engaged in transport operations at
local, regional or national level do not constitute State aid
within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the Treaty.

(1) OJ C 318, 24. 11. 1983, p. 3.