2000/424/EC: Commission Decision of 16 November 1999 on aid which France is planning to grant to Cofidur to help it take over the former Gooding (ex Grundig) plant at Creutzwald (notified under document number C(1999) 4229) (Text with EEA relevance) (Only the French text is authentic)
Date: 1999-11-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, State aid, application of EU law, control of State aid, electronics industry, investment aid

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 16 November 1999

on aid which France is planning to grant to Cofidur to help it take over the former Gooding
(ex Grundig) plant at Creutzwald

(notified under document number C(1999) 4229)

(Only the French text is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2000/424/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article
88(2) thereof,

(2)

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic
Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof,

Having called on interested parties to submit their comments
pursuant to those provisions,

(3)

Whereas:

I. PROCEDURE

(1)

By letter dated 23 June 1997, France notified the
Commission under Article 88(3) of
the Treaty of a
number of aid awards totalling FRF 8,65 million which
it intended to grant to the firm Cofidur for the purpose
of setting up a new company, Continental Edison. The
aid was to be granted by national and regional author-
ities in the form of decentralised loans and a reim-
bursable interest-free advance. According to France, the
aid was being made available in the context of the
second takeover of the former Gooding Electronique SA
(GESA) (ex Grundig) plant both as investment aid and as

restructuring aid under the criteria laid down by the
Commission in the Community guidelines on State aid
for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (1) (here-
inafter called ‘the guidelines’).

GESA had taken over the former Grundig plant at
Creutzwald. When the plant was taken over, the French
authorities provided support in the context of a restruc-
turing plan submitted by the firm. The procedure laid
down in Article 88(2) of the Treaty has been initiated
separately in respect of the aid to GESA, which went
into liquidation in June 1995 (2).

On 25 February 1998 the Commission decided to
initiate the same procedure in respect of the abovemen-
tioned measures to assist Cofidur. France was informed
of this decision by letter dated 22 April 1998 (3). The
Commission invited the other Member States and inter-
ested parties to submit their comments on the measures.
It has received no replies as part of this procedure.

By letter dated 14 May 1998, France asked the Commis-
sion for an extension until 4 June 1998 of the time limit
for submitting its comments. The request was granted.
The comments were received by the Commission on 16
June 1998, further comments being received by letters
dated 8 September and 9 October 1998.

It also stated that

France provided further information at a meeting on 7
June 1999.
investment had been
jobs had been maintained in
undertaken and that
it
accordance with the diversification plan and that
its commitments towards Cofidur.
wished to fulfil

(4)

(5)

(1) OJ C 283, 19.9.1997, p. 2.
(2) OJ C 179, 11.6.1998, p. 9.
(3) OJ C 198, 24.6.1998, p. 12.

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(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

This information was repeated at a meeting between
France and the Commission's departments on 22
September 1999. The result is that Cofidur has decided
to concentrate on producing multimedia equipment and
top-of-the-range television sets. Lastly, France confirmed
registered as
by letter dated 30 September 1999,
received on 1 October 1999, that the planned invest-
ment
in diversifying Continental Edison's production
had been carried out and the jobs had been maintained
in accordance with the original plan.

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURES

This Decision is concerned with the aid, in the form of
investment aid and restructuring aid amounting to
FRF 8,65 million, which France intends to grant
to
Cofidur for the purpose of setting up the new company
Continental Edison.

The aid recipient

Following the opening of bankruptcy proceedings on 22
June 1995 and of compulsory administration and
winding-up proceedings under Law 85-98 of 25 January
1985, the Metz Regional Court ordered the liquidation
of GESA on 21 February 1997. The enforcement of this
decision was suspended when a prospective buyer, the
Cofidur group, came forward. The Regional Court then
drew up an assignment plan in favour of Cofidur, which
set up Continental Edison, which in turn was registered
in the Commercial and Companies Register on 28 May
1997.

The Cofidur group was admitted to the unlisted secur-
ities market of the Paris Stock Exchange on 1 October
1996. It controls 24 industrial and commercial compa-
including 20 in France,
nies throughout
whose activities
component
subcontracting to IT products (printed circuit boards and
electronic cards).

the world,
range

from electronic

In 1997 Cofidur had a workforce of 2 080 and a consol-
idated turnover,
including the results of Continental
Edison, of FRF 1 110 million. The group has enjoyed
uninterrupted growth since it was set up in 1968. By
creating the company Continental Edison at Creutzwald
on the site of the former Grundig and latterly GESA
plant, it has extended its product range in the electronic
cards sector and on the communication and multimedia
market.

Continental Edison has re-hired 200 of GESA's 375
employees; the workforce should increase to 288 by the
end of 1999.

Continental Edison is, in accordance with a restructuring
plan presented to, and deemed feasible by, the Commer-
cial Chamber of the Metz Regional Court, producing a
new line of top-of-the-range television sets with high
value added as well as the existing line of more down-
market TV sets, of which the company will raise output
to 440 000 units a year. Under the plan, Continental
Edison will also manufacture under subcontract
to
Cofidur electronic components for the latter's customers
in Germany and eastern France and produce innovative

multimedia equipment which will diversify its target
market into that high-technology growth area.

(13)

Following the poor results achieved by Continental
Edison in 1998, especially in the down-market television
set sector, the company's diversification was delayed. In
order to ensure Continental Edison's viability, Cofidur
chose to give priority to the development of personal
computers (hereinafter called ‘PCs’), a more buoyant
market. According to France, however, the production
of top-of-the-range television sets — a more profitable
sector than that of more down-market television sets,
which is in sharp decline — is expanding in tandem
with multimedia PC production following the invest-
ment carried out.

(14)

Cofidur is injecting FRF 20 million of fresh capital into
the new company, plus FRF 5 million in the form of
equity loans. This figure of FRF 25 million constitutes
the own funds or quasi-own funds of Continental Edison
fixed assets
and is intended to cover acquisitions of
(including the assets taken over) and to carry out the
restructuring plan.

The aid

(15)

The planned public assistance is as follows:

(a) exceptional State aid for investment amounting to
FRF 2,25 million, granted in the form of decentral-
ised funds administered by the Regional Prefecture
and paid as a proportion of the investment actually
made. This aid is to be granted under the funds for
industrial restructuring scheme of the Ministry of
Industry (CIRI, budget heading 64-96) authorised by
the Commission (4);

(b) aid for a firm in difficulty granted by the Moselle
General Council under Article L.3231-3 of
the
General Local Authorities Code, amounting to
FRF 1,4 million and paid under the same conditions
as the exceptional State aid;

(c) assistance for a firm in difficulty granted by the
Lorraine Regional Council under Article L.4211-1 of
the General Local Authorities Code, amounting to
FRF 5 million in the form of a reimbursable five-
year interest-free advance to facilitate the creation
jobs. The
and,
Regional Prefecture and the General Council will
closely monitor the three-year recruitment plan.

safeguarding of

subsequently,

(4) OJ C 181, 12.7.1991, p. 3; state aid E 1/90 — NN 120/90 —

France; Funds for industrial restructuring.

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(16)

The new investments are estimated by France at
FRF 21,5 million. To this amount must be added,
according to a memorandum from France dated 30
September 1999, GESA's assignment price,
i.e. assets
worth FRF 7,5 million. The total investments therefore
come to FRF 29 million.

basis of the restructuring aid and call it investment aid,
the intensity of
the notified aid would be 21,16 %.
Lastly, pursuant to point 18(i) of the Annex to the 1979
Commission communication on regional aid systems (7),
the takeover of an establishment which has closed or
which would have closed had such takeover not taken
place may also be deemed to be initial

investment.

III. COMMENTS UNDER THE PROCEDURE LAID DOWN

IN ARTICLE 88(2) OF THE TREATY

Comments from France

Reasons given by the Commission for initiating the
procedure

(22)

In the course of the proceedings France advanced the
following arguments:

(17)

In the decision to initiate the abovementioned pro-
cedure,
the
compatibility of the aid with the common market. Its
reasons were basically as follows:

the Commission expressed doubts about

(23)

(18) According to France,

the new company Continental
Edison is the result of a takeover, by Cofidur, of GESA.
This takeover was effected in accordance with French
assignment procedure.
the
bankruptcy law, under
Assignment is intended to ensure the survival of activ-
ities that are capable of operating independently and to
save some or all of
the associated jobs, with the
proceeds from the assignment serving to meet some or
all of the liabilities. Thus, according to France, GESA and
Continental Edison are entirely separate legal entities.

France did not comment on whether the new company,
Continental Edison, is eligible for restructuring aid under
the guidelines. It merely reiterated the aim of keeping
the Creutzwald production plant going in difficult
in
economic and social circumstances.
accordance with the guidelines, ‘the Commission has to
take account of regional development needs when it
assesses restructuring aid in an assisted area’.

It stated that,

(24) As regards the conditions under which Continental
Edison is operating, France provided a detailed descrip-
tion of
facing the
company which have induced it to invest in adapting its
production facilities and diversifying and rationalising its
activities and working methods.

structural difficulties

the major

(19)

(20)

(21)

The conditions for exemption under the guidelines are
not met because Cofidur/Continental Edison is not
taking over all the assets and liabilities of the liquidated
company, GESA. Being a new company, Cofidur is prima
facie neither capable of being responsible for any aid
paid previously to GESA, nor eligible for restructuring
aid.

(25)

If Continental Edison were to continue the business
activities of GESA and to be responsible for any aid paid
previously to that company, it might still qualify as a
firm in difficulty and be eligible for restructuring aid
provided such aid complies with the guidelines.

The company is located in an assisted area within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty by virtue of the
regional planning grants (Prime a l'aménagement du
territoire — PAT) scheme (5), under which the maximum
authorised aid ceiling is 17 % gross for a large firm. The
Commission found when it initiated the procedure that
Continental Edison does not meet
the independence
criterion laid down in Article 1(3) of the Annex to
Commission Recommendation 96/280/EC of 3 April
1996 concerning the definition of small and medium-
sized enterprises (6). If France were to change the legal

The company's image has suffered as a result of GESA's
bankruptcy, and its relations with customers, suppliers
and creditors have been affected. The worsening of the
company's image has had an impact from a commercial
and financial point of view and in the social sphere. To
stay in business, Continental Edison must both tackle
the weaknesses of
the former company GESA and
confront the new difficulties stemming from the latter's
cessation of payments. To allow a return to viability, a
large-scale restructuring plan presented to, and deemed
feasible by,
the Metz
the Commercial Chamber of
Regional Court has been devised. It has three points:

(a) a drastic reduction in the workforce (dismissal of

47 % of GESA's employees) to 200;

(b) the business will be reorganised so as to reposition
Continental Edison on the television set market.
Without abandoning the lower-price segment, the
company will develop a complementary line of
top-of-the-range, high-value-added sets. At the same
it will diversify into electronic component
time,
subcontracting and the innovative production of
multimedia equipment in the booming high tech-
nology sector.

(5) OJ C 364, 20.12.1994, p. 6.
(6) OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4.

(7) OJ C 31, 3.2.1979, p. 9.

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The shift of business emphasis has necessitated the
introduction of a new industrial organisation and
new working methods, generating design, adaptation
and product defect costs initially. This has been
coupled with a search for better cost control (intro-
duction of a management control tool).

(31)

In its memorandum of 30 September 1999, France drew
the Commission's attention to the fact that the FRF 3
million training plan with which it was proposed to
back up the multimedia equipment development and
electronic component subcontracting had been delayed.

(c) lastly, a major training plan costing FRF 3 million
has been drawn up to enable staff to keep pace with
technological change and adjust to the more modern
working methods.

(26)

The linking of Continental Edison to a strong group,
Cofidur, which ensures the security of certain outlets
and provides a financial safety net.

(27) However, France has provided the Commission with no
projected balance sheet or market survey such as might
enable it to check whether the proposed restructuring is
appropriate.

(28) As to the investment needed to implement the restruc-
turing plan, France states that it is aimed at:

IV. ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURES

Restructuring aid

(32) Under French bankruptcy law, assignment is intended to
ensure the maintenance of activities susceptible of inde-
pendent operation and of some or all of the associated
jobs, with the proceeds from the assignment serving to
meet some or all of the liabilities. According to the
French authorities, the pre-existing company and the
emerging company are entirely separate legal entities
the emerging company is without question
even if
continuing a pre-existing economic activity.

(33) When the procedure was initiated, the Commission took
the view that, in this type of takeover, there are three
possible scenarios:

(a) technical adaptation of the existing industrial plant
in order to create a full range of television sets where
the company previously had only three models. The
technical adaptation costs are put at FRF 800 000;

(b) the development of new equipment for making tele-
vision moulds and for the production of new types
of apparatus (multimedia consoles and TVs with
built-in satellite reception), the cost of which is put
at FRF 20,7 million.

France wishes to apply to the company a three-part
scheme
(FRF 2,25 million in central government
support, FRF 1,4 million in Moselle General Council
support and FRF 5 million in Lorraine Regional Council
support). It considers that the investment to which these
three parts apply may be considered new investment
aimed at helping the company diversify.

Because France's arguments revealed an inconsistency
between the precise nature of the FRF 5 million of aid
intended for employment-promoting measures and the
training plan costing FRF 3 million, the Commission
contacted France once more. By letter dated 8
September 1998, registered as received on 9 September,
France confirmed that the Lorraine Regional Council
assistance in the form of a FRF 5 million advance was
intended to cover the supporting of jobs as part of the
overall restructuring plan. In return for this aid, Cofidur
had undertaken, as buyer,
initially to keep on 200
employees and subsequently to create 88 new jobs over
three years.

(34)

(35)

(a) either the new company does not take over all the
assets and liabilities of the bankrupt company. In
this case, the company cannot prima facie be held
responsible for any aid paid previously or be eligible
for restructuring aid;

(b) or the company does take over all the assets and
liabilities, in which case there is a presumption that
it may be eligible for restructuring aid if the require-
ments of the Community guidelines are met, and
that it must also be held responsible for repaying
any aid which the Commission might declare incom-
patible with the Treaty;

(c) or, as the French authorities maintain, the company
has its debts written off during the bankruptcy
proceedings, this write-off being part of a restruc-
turing process involving economic continuity. In this
event, the Commission will examine the possibility
of considering such write-off to be aid assignable to
the new company and forming part of a restruc-
turing plan.

The company in this case is a new company which is
not taking over all the assets and liabilities. The second
alternative therefore does not apply.

Even if the Commission were to consider that Con-
tinental Edison is eligible for restructuring aid, the neces-
sity of the aid would not be proved as any difficulties
the firm might be experiencing should have been quanti-
fied and factored into the buyer's economic calculation
and hence deducted from the purchase price of the

(29)

(30)

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it

assets. Quite apart from the fact that under the French
Receivership Act
is not possible to consider the
writing-off of debts to be aid assignable to the new
company, the amount of aid thus calculated would be so
large that the principle of proportionality required by
the guidelines would not be observed.

France contends that the first two aid measures totalling
FRF 3,65 million support more specifically physical
investment and that the third measure (FRF 5 million, of
which the aid element comes to FRF 900 000) supports
measures to promote employment linked to that invest-
ment.

In its memorandum of 30 September 1999, France takes
the view that the aid can be considered aid for initial
investment within the meaning of the guidelines on
national regional aid (8). The Commission must therefore
conclude that, by this argument, France has altered its
assessment of the aid in question, calling it now invest-
ment and employment aid. This explains why France has
not
in addition to information on the
strategy proposed by the buyer, a restructuring plan
within the meaning of the guidelines.

transmitted,

Regional aid

equipment. The Commission notes that Continental
Edison is
the market
turning once more towards
segment of top-of-the-range television sets which was
abandoned by the pre-existing company in favour of
more down-market sets. The top-of-the-range market is
considered to be a growth market following the intro-
duction of 16:9 format screens, in which sales should
continue to expand (9). But
the small-screen market
segment may, despite the fact that nearly 100 % of EU
households have at least one TV set, remain buoyant
thanks to the increasing tendency for households to own
more than one set. Continental Edison is in direct
competition, however, with imports from low-wage
Asian countries. The markets for electronic cards and
multimedia equipment, on which Continental Edison has
been focusing since 1999, are expanding (10). In 1998
the world market for PCs grew by 23,4 %, and in 1997
the European PC market
in
demand (11).

saw a 49 % surge

(40)

Continental Edison's share of the overall television set
market will, after the planned increase in production,
amount to 440 000 units, or the equivalent of 2,13 % of
the Community colour
in 1996.
Cofidur's investment in Continental Edison will have the
(down-market products) or
effect of maintaining
its output. Any
increasing (top-of-the-range products)
aid to the company might therefore influence Cofidur's
position on that market vis-à-vis its competitors in the
Community.

television market

(41) As to Continental Edison's share of the PC market, it is
clear that, at a time when it is just starting up, produc-
tion has yet to reach an intense level in what is a highly
competitive growth sector.

(36)

(37)

(38)

(42)

The aid proposed by France is to be paid for out of
resources of the French State (FRF 2,25 million), the
(FRF 1,4 million) and the
department of Moselle
Lorraine Region (FRF 5 million). The amount of
FRF 3,65 million is earmarked for
investment, an
advance of FRF 2 million, of which the aid element
comes to FRF 360 000, is earmarked for employment,
and an advance of FRF 3 million, of which the aid
element comes
is earmarked for
training. This aid favours the recipient company in so far
as it reduces the cost of the investment project, which
totals FRF 29 million, a cost which the company in
question ought normally to have borne entirely on its
own. It is therefore State aid within the meaning of
Article 87(1) of the Treaty which is likely to distort
competition and affect trade between Member States.

to FRF 540 000,

a

social

granted

character

The aid's compatibility with the common market cannot
be justified on the basis of the exceptions provided for
in Article 87(2)(a) and (b) of the Treaty as it is not aid
having
to individual
consumers and it is not intended to make good the
damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occur-
rences. The exception provided for in Article 87(2)(c) is
likewise not applicable. Nor can the aid be considered
compatible on the basis of Article 87(3)(a), (b) and (d). It
is not intended to promote the economic development
of an area where the standard of living is abnormally
low or where there is serious underemployment within
the meaning of Article 87(3)(a), within the meaning of
the Commission communication on the method for the
application of Article 87(3)(a) and (c) to regional aid (12),
or within the meaning of the Commission decision on
the regional planning grants scheme. And it
is not
intended to promote the execution of an important
project of common European interest or to remedy a
serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State,
or to promote culture and heritage conservation.

(39)

Continental Edison operates in the consumer electronics
market, where the company will offer a product mix
consisting essentially of still-to-be-developed top-of-the-
range television sets and more down-market television
sets already produced by GESA, and of multimedia

(8) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 4.

(9) Panorama of EU Industry 1997, Volume 2.
(10) See previous footnote.
(11) CeBITViews 18-24 March 1999.
(12) OJ C 212, 12.8.1988, p. 2.

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(43) Under the exception provided for in Article 87(3)(c) of
the Treaty, the Commission may consider aid to facil-
itate the development of certain economic areas to be
compatible where it does not adversely affect trading
conditions
to an extent contrary to the common
interest. By decision of 14 September 1994 on the
regional
industrial
projects (13), the Commission decided, on the basis of the
socio-economic data for the regions concerned,
that
initial investment within the meaning of point 18(i) of
the Annex to the Commission communication on
regional aid systems, undertaken in the region where
Continental Edison is situated, may be eligible for
regional aid with an aid intensity of 17 % gross in the
case of a large firm.

planning

scheme

grant

for

(44) According to the arguments put forward by France, the
new investment, the eligibility of which has been verified
by the Commission and which has been evaluated at
FRF 29 million, is intended for the purchase of GESA's
assets and for the rationalisation, diversification and
modernisation of production. The
aid
proposed for Cofidur totals FRF 3,65 million, giving an
intensity of 12,6 % gross of the total of FRF 29 million.
This investment may be regarded as initial investment
within the meaning of the 1979 communication. Con-
sequently, and in the light of the above, the investment
aid amounting to FRF 3,65 million may be considered
compatible with the common market on the basis of the
exception provided for in Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty.

investment

Employment aid

(45)

The third aspect of the public assistance for Cofidur,
amounting to FRF 5 million in the form of an interest-
free advance of which the aid element comes
to
FRF 900 000, is the supporting of measures to promote
employment and training. An amount of FRF 2 million,
of which the aid element comes to FRF 360 000, has
been earmarked for the creation of new jobs. Cofidur
has undertaken, in return for the aid, to maintain 200
existing jobs and to create 88 new ones over three years.
It has also undertaken to provide the Lorraine Regional
Council with salary statements on 31 May of each year.

(46)

The measures in question constitute employment aid
linked to initial investment within the meaning of the
regional aid guidelines.

(13) See footnote 5.

(47)

(48)

(49)

(50)

In this respect, the Commission notes that Cofidur has
undertaken to create 88 new jobs over three years. In its
analysis, the Commission takes account of the fact that
the regional planning grants scheme leads,
for this
number of
to an eligible amount of FRF 4,4
million. In the present case, the grant proposed for job
creation purposes amounts to FRF 2 million.

jobs,

advance

The maximum ceiling of intensity of regional aid for
investment and job creation, linked to initial investment,
is set at 17 %. The aid for job creation in the form of an
an aid element of
contains
interest-free
FRF 360 000. Combining the aid for initial investment,
namely FRF 3,65 million, with the job creation aid
element, namely FRF 360 000, gives FRF 4,01 million.
If this amount is compared with the investment cost of
FRF 29 million, an aid intensity of 13,8 % gross is
obtained. The Commission notes that the intensity of
the planned aid is lower than the 17 % maximum ceiling
authorised for large firms in an assisted area under
Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty. In this context, mention
should be made of the assurance given by France in its
letter of 30 September 1999 that no other investment or
employment aid will be granted.

Training aid

Some training aid measures may be covered by one of
the exceptions in Article 87(3) of the Treaty. Under
Article 87(3)(c), the Commission may authorise aid to
facilitate the development of certain activities where it
does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent
contrary to the common interest. The Commission
considers that training plays an indispensable part in the
introduction of new technologies and that it can help to
create and maintain jobs. A training-promoting measure
may, however, be covered by the above-mentioned
exception only if it is in the nature of an incentive and is
commensurate with the Community objectives it sets
out to achieve.

The training measures contained in the training plan
drawn up by Cofidur seek to adapt the 200 employees
taken over from GESA to technological change and to
the modernisation of working methods as part of the
overall restructuring plan. The Commission considers
that training aid always has an incentive effect in the
case of small and medium-sized firms, and this effect is
also presumed to exist even in the case of large firms
owing to the relatively large externalities which training
may produce in some regions covered by Article

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87(3)(c) of the Treaty. It is in these regions that expend-
iture on training and the level of skills are the lowest
and that the Community interest in increasing that level
so as to improve the employment situation and attract
new investment
the strongest. The Commission
the skilling of workers also plays an
considers that
important part in the framework of industrial redevelop-
ment.

is

The cost of the measures, the eligibility of which has
been examined by the Commission, comes to FRF 3
million, the aid element of which is FRF 540 000, or
18 %. The Commission considers, given the relatively
low rate of the aid intensity of these measures and the
incentive effects they have in an area affected by conver-
sion of the coalmining and mining industry and covered
by Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, that the aid for training
the workforce of Continental Edison is not likely to
adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary
to the common interest and that it is compatible with
Community law.

V. CONCLUSION

In the light of the above, the Commission considers that
investment amounting to FRF 3,65
the aid for initial
million, combined with the job creation aid element
(linked to the initial investment) of FRF 360 000, giving
is compatible with the
a total of FRF 4,01 million,
common market pursuant
the
Treaty.

to Article 87(3)(c) of

The Commission notes that the training aid in the form
of an advance of FRF 3 million contains an aid element
of FRF 540 000 the intensity of which, compared with
the eligible costs of FRF 3 million, is 18 %. In view of
the important role played by the training and skilling of

(51)

(52)

(53)

workers and the incentive effect this has in some regions
covered by Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, the Commis-
sion concludes that
this aid is compatible with the
common market,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The aid for initial investment amounting to FRF 3,65 million
(EUR 556 439) and the aid for job creation,
linked to that
investment,
in the form of an advance of FRF 2 million
(EUR 302 898) which France plans to grant to Cofidur is
to Article
compatible with the common market pursuant
87(3)(c) of the Treaty.

Article 2

The training aid in the form of an advance of FRF 3 million
(EUR 457 347) is compatible with the common market.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.

Done at Brussels, 16 November 1999.

For the Commission

Mario MONTI

Member of the Commission