WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2856/97 by Werner LANGEN to the Commission. Repayment of French textile subsidies
Date: 1997-09-11
Institutions: European Parliament, LANGEN
Subjects: France, State aid, aid to industry, clothing industry, control of State aid, footwear industry, leather industry, redemption, social-security contribution, textile industry

C 117/82

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16. 4. 98

(98/C 117/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2856/97

by Werner Langen (PPE) to the Commission

(11 September 1997)

Subject: Repayment of French textile subsidies

On  9  April  1997,  the  Commission  decided  in  regard  to  the  subsidization  of  the  French  textile  and  clothing
industry  through  the  waiver  of  some  DM  600  million  in  social  security  contributions  that  the  aid  was  not
consistent  with  European  law,  with  the  exception  of  those  funds  which  fall  under  the  (cid:145)De-Minimis(cid:146)  rule.
Accordingly, the Commission regards Article 92(1) of the EC Treaty as inapplicable only where the total amount
of aid does not exceed the sum of ECU 100 000 within a period of 3 years.

The French Government was, therefore, requested to ensure that the aid was repaid within 2 months or to notify
the Commission of the measures it would take to repay the funds.

As the deadline for the French Government(cid:146)s reply expired on 10 July 1997, will the Commission say:

1.  what  measures  the  French  Government  will  take  to  repay  the  unjustified  aid  to  the  French  textile  and

clothing industry in accordance with its obligations under Community law?

2.  how it intends to carry out its task of overseeing the repayment of the subsidies?

3.  what further action it will take in respect of any future multisectoral aid scheme operating in conjunction
with regional aid instruments and what further steps are planned in regard to checks on aid to the textile
industry?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 1997)

On 28 April 1997 the Commission informed France that, in its view, reductions in social security contributions in
the textile and clothing industry and in the leather and footwear sector exceeding the de minimis threshold of
ECU  100  000  over  a  three-year  period  were  incompatible  with  the  EC  Treaty.  Following  this  notification,
numerous contacts of both a political and a technical nature have taken place between the French Government
and the Commission to discuss replacement of the sectoral approach, which is incompatible with the Treaty, by a
new  general  scheme  based  on  the  reduction  of  social  security  contributions.  The  French  scheme  would  fall
outside the scope of Article 92(1) of the EC Treaty only if the measures in question were applicable across the
board.

Following the French general elections, the new government has informed the Commission that it intends to
devise a new scheme for the reduction of social security contributions which will be quite different from the
sectoral measures previously in force. In addition, France has brought proceedings before the Court of Justice
with a view to having the negative decision on the above-mentioned sectoral measures declared void.

If the new scheme were indeed a general measure, the Commission could decide that it was not subject to the
provisions of the Treaty governing state aid. However, such a decision would not prejudge the issue of France’s
compliance with the Commission’s decision that the previous sectoral arrangements were incompatible with the
Treaty.

As regards the future multisectoral framework for regional aid to major investment projects, the Commission is
currently discussing a draft document with the Member States on a bilateral basis. It believes that it may be
possible to adopt this framework by the end of the year. The framework may also include a specific notification
threshold for the textile industry, with a view to meeting the latter’s concerns about the maintenance of strict
controls on state aid.