WRITTEN QUESTION E-2093/99 by Alexander Radwan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Reduction of the areas eligible for assistance in West Germany including Berlin.
Date: 1999-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Berlin, Germany, State aid, eligible region, regional policy, terms for aid

8.8.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 225 E/51

(2000/C 225 E/050)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2093/99

by Alexander Radwan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 November 1999)

Subject: Reduction of the areas eligible for assistance in West Germany including Berlin

In July 1999 the Commission decided to reduce the area designated by the Federal Government as eligible
for assistance in the West German L(cid:228)nder and Berlin from 23,4 % to 17,6 % and to initiate proceedings
against the Federal Republic of Germany to examine this assistance.

1. Will the Commission reconsider its position, on the basis of infringement of the principle of equality,
and consider leaving the assisted area based on a 23,4 % ceiling?

2.
If the Commission considers that a return to the 23,4 % ceiling is impossible, could it envisage a joint
agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany on the approved area for assistance which is appreciably
higher than 17,6 %?

3.
How does the Commission view the proposal that the previous transitional solution should be
retained, whereby consideration could be given to applications for assistance made before a district was
excluded from the areas eligible for assistance?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(10 January 2000)

The first two questions are at the moment being closely scrutinised as part of state aid investigation
No C 47/99. All the grounds that were taken into consideration by the Commission in initiating
proceedings are given in the relevant decision, which was published in the Official Journal (1).

With a view to achieving the objective of cohesion and in the light of the forthcoming enlargement, the
Commission has decided to reduce regional aid coverage in the Community to 42,7 %. For Germany, this
means a reduction to 34,9 %.

The relative reduction in coverage in Germany is smaller than that for the Community as a whole.

The figure of 34,9 % applies both to the areas covered by Article 87(3)(a) (ex-Article 92) of the EC Treaty
and to those covered by Article 87(3)(c). On the basis of socio-economic data, a population coverage of
17,3 % was set for Article 87(3)(a) areas (five new L(cid:228)nder) and one of 17,6 % for Article 87(3)(c) areas
(assisted areas in western Germany and Berlin).

This figure was calculated using an objective method that was applied equally to all Member States and is
described in Annex III to the guidelines on national regional aid (2). The Commission also took account of
several objectives of the Treaty and,
in the interests of the general good, weighed them against one
another. This did not suggest any unfair discrimination between the different situations in the individual
Member States.

The third question likewise relates to a ongoing notification procedure (No 209/99). The Commission is
unable at the moment to comment on the transitional arrangements for the areas to be excluded from the
joint Federal Government/L(cid:228)nder scheme in question since the Commission is awaiting the reaction of the
German Government.

(1) OJ C 340, 27.11.1999.
(2) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998.