2000/472/EC: Commission Decision of 29 March 2000 on the aid scheme implemented by Belgium under Article 29ter of the Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970, as amended by the Decree of 25 June 1992 (notified under document number C(2000)1007) (Text with EEA relevance) (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic)
Date: 2000-03-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, EU law - national law, aid system, economic growth, terms for aid

L 191/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.7.2000

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 29 March 2000

on the aid scheme implemented by Belgium under Article 29ter of the Economic Expansion Act
of 30 December 1970, as amended by the Decree of 25 June 1992

(notified under document number C(2000)1007)

(Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2000/472/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(2)

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

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

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22
March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of
Article 93 of the EC Treaty (1), and in particular Article 14
thereof,

Having called on interested parties to submit their comments
pursuant to Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 62(1) of
the EEA Agreement,

Whereas:

I. PROCEDURE

(1)

On 11 March 1991, pursuant to Article 88(3) of the EC
Treaty, Belgium notified a draft decree amending the
Belgian Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970
(N 144/91) (2). Articles 17 to 19 of the draft decree
introduced new aid instruments to support Walloon
firms participating in European industrial programmes
for which specific international agreements had been
concluded.

(3)

(4)

By letter dated 9 July 1991 (3),
the Commission
approved Articles 1 to 16 of the Walloon decree of 25
June 1992, explicitly excluding Articles 17 to 19 from
its decision. The Commission indicated that the Articles
in question were too imprecise and that the situations
which they covered were too diverse for it to take a
the
position.
notification was incomplete and had reserved the right
to examine whether the Articles were compatible with
the Treaty in the light of implementation arrangements,
which were to be notified to it on a case-by-case basis,
as Belgium had undertaken to do.

It had therefore taken the view that

In August 1992 the Belgian authorities transmitted to
the Commission for information purposes the final text,
as approved by the Walloon Regional Council on 25
June 1992, of
the decree amending the Economic
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970 (4). A reading of
the final text showed that certain provisions had been
changed compared with the version of the draft decree
on which the Commission had taken a position in its
letter of 9 July 1991 (5). Some of the changes were of a
purely linguistic nature and involved no changes of
substance, while others affected the substance of the
text.

In the final text of the decree, Articles 17 to 19 of the
draft decree were merged into a single Article 19.
Article 19 of the decree provided for the insertion of a
new Article 29ter in the Economic Expansion Act of 30
December 1970. Article 29ter of
the Economic
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970, as amended by
the decree of 25 June 1992 (referred to hereinafter as
(cid:145)Article 29ter(cid:146)), made provision for aid instruments to
support Walloon firms participating
in European
industrial programmes for which specific international
referred to in
agreements had been concluded, as
recital (1).

(1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.
(2) Letter P11/91/533/26.864 dated 11 March 1991, registered by the

Commission on 14 March 1991 as aid N 144/91.

(3) Letter SG(91) D/12925.
(4) Letter P11/91/533/35.050 dated 7 August 1992.
(5) See footnote 3.

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(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

Following the discovery of these amendments to the
version of the scheme on which the Commission had
taken a position, the case was classified as unnotified aid
(NN 113/92).

The Belgian authorities
subsequently notified the
Commission by letter dated 22 December 1992 (6) of
certain provisions of the final version of the decree of
25 June 1992 which, according to them, had been
to the substance. Article 19 was not
amended as
included. They also asked the Commission to confirm
that provisions which had not been amended as to the
substance and which the Commission had accepted in
its Decision of 9 July 1991 could still be implemented.

By letter dated 28 January 1993 (7), the Commission
replied that
it accepted the implementation only of
those provisions of the decree of 25 June 1992 which
had been included in the approval decision of 9 July
1991 (8) and whose wording had not been altered since
then.

By letter dated 17 January 1994 (9), the Commission
informed the Belgian authorities that it had decided not
to raise any objections to the unnotified amendments to
the decree of 25 June 1992 (NN 113/92). At the same
time, it stressed that its decision not to raise objections
did not concern Article 19 of the decree by which the
new Article 29ter was
inserted into the Economic
Expansion Act.

On 12 January 1993, reacting to information published
in the press,
the Belgian
for further information on aid
authorities a request
granted by the Walloon region to provide partial cover
against exchange risks.

the Commission sent

The Walloon regional authorities replied by fax dated
15 March 1993, stating that the Walloon Executive had
decided to allocate an amount of BEF 315 million as
partial cover for exchange-rate differentials relating to
the implementation of various programmes. The Belgian
authorities stated that the decision had been taken on 4
June 1992 in anticipation of
the decree of 25 June
1992 amending the Economic Expansion Act of 30
December 1970. They also pointed out that the fax
should be regarded as being equivalent to notification
within the meaning of Article 88(3) and the operational
procedures laid down pursuant to Article 29ter , and
that this was the first case in which that Article had
been applied.

(11)

By letter dated 29 March 1993, the Commission asked
whether aid had already been paid under Article 29ter .

(6) Letter P11/91/533/37.107.
(7) Letter DG IV.E.3-D/06258.
(8) See footnote 3.
(9) Letter SG(94) D/607.

(12)

(13)

(14)

By letter dated 30 April 1993, the Belgian authorities
stated that aid had been paid at the end of March 1993.
They also confirmed that this was the first time that
Article 29ter had been applied.

By letter dated 2 December 1993 (10), the Commission
informed the Belgian authorities that it had decided to
initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2)
in
respect of the (cid:145)Article 29ter(cid:146) aid scheme.

The decision to initiate the procedure was published in
the Official Journal of the European Communities (11). The
Commission invited interested parties to submit their
comments on the aid scheme.

(15)

The Commission received no comments from interested
parties.

(16)

(17)

The Commission received the Belgian authorities’ official
reply by letter dated 10 February 1994 (12). In this letter
the Belgian authorities undertook
the
Commission, pursuant to Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty,
of any plan to grant aid under Article 29ter. The Belgian
authorities confirmed this undertaking by letter dated 6
April 1994 (13).

to notify

By letter dated 26 May 1994 (14),
the Commission
requested the abrogation of Article 29ter. By letter dated
16 June 1994 (15), the Belgian authorities argued that
the complexity of parliamentary procedures meant that
practicable
abrogating Article
29ter was
proposition. By letter dated 30 January 1996,
the
Belgian authorities informed the Commission of their
decision to initiate the parliamentary procedure to
. By letter dated 29 February
abrogate Article 29ter
1996 (16),
the Belgian
authorities’ decision to abrogate Article 29ter.

the Commission took note of

not

a

(18)

By letters dated 10 May 1996 (17), 10 July 1996 (18), 2
July 1997 (19) and 26 November 1997 (20), the Belgian
authorities informed the Commission of progress in the
parliamentary procedure to abrogate Article 29ter. By
the Belgian
letter
authorities informed the Commission that the Walloon

dated 13 February 1998 (21),

(10) Letter SG(93) D/19520.
(11) OJ C 170, 23.6.1994, p. 5.
(12) Letter P11/91/533/43.927.
(13) Letter P11/91/533/44.740.
(14) Letter D/4596.
(15) Letter P11/91/533/45.789.
(16) Letter DG IV.E.3.-D/13056.
(17) Letter P12/533/54.981.
(18) Letter P12/533/55.773.
(19) Letter P12/533/61.758
(20) Letter P12/533/64.012
(21) Letter P12/533/65.339

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Regional Council had abrogated Article 29ter of
the
Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970, as
amended by the decree of 25 June 1992, and that this
decision had been published in the Belgian Official
Gazette on 4 February 1998.

the EC Treaty, was sent some time after the date on
which the Walloon authorities decided to grant aid
under Article 29ter (namely 4 June 1992).

(19)

By letter dated 10 June 1998 (22), the Commission asked
the Belgian authorities to provide a list of companies
that had been granted aid under Article 29ter. The
Belgian authorities provided this information by letters
dated 20 August 1998 and 9 November 1998 (23).

II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID

(20) Article 29ter provides

for aid for Walloon firms
participating in Community industrial programmes for
which specific
agreements had been
concluded. Aid may take the form of:

international

(23)

Regarding the incompatibility of the aid with the common
market:

(exchange-rate guarantee, guarantee in
Article 29ter
in economic indicators,
trends
respect of divergent
the
funds mobilised for
for
financing of or cover
performance of
enabled the Belgian
contract)
authorities to grant operating aid in Wallonia, a region
which was only partially eligible under Article 87(3)(c)
of the EC Treaty.

the

Under Community rules applying to national regional
the time and now (26), operating aid is
aid both at
allowed only in regions eligible under Article 87(3)(a) of
the EC Treaty and only by way of a derogation and
subject to certain conditions.

(a) a guarantee covering exchange-rate risks based on a
central rate established by the Walloon Executive in
accordance with procedures determined by it;

III. COMMENTS FROM BELGIUM

(b) a guarantee in respect of divergent

in
economic indicators, in accordance with procedures
determined by the Executive;

trends

(c)

financing in the form of recoverable advances or
cover for financing costs in respect of no more than
50 % of funds mobilised for the performance of a
contract, in accordance with procedures determined
by the Executive.

(21)

In its decision to initiate the Article 88(2) procedure (24),
the Commission expressed doubts regarding both the
lawfulness and compatibility of the aid measure.

(22)

Regarding the unlawful nature of the aid:

The Commission took the view that the decision of 4
June 1992 by the Walloon Executive to grant aid under
Article 29ter was improper because it had not been
notified. The Commission regards aid as having been
granted as from the point in time when a decision is
taken to that effect by the competent authorities, as
opposed to the time of actual disbursement (25). The fax
of 15 March 1993,
in which the Belgian authorities
stated that the information provided must be regarded
as constituting notification pursuant to Article 88(3) of

(24)

By letter dated 10 February 1994 (27),
the Belgian
authorities disputed the unlawful nature of
the aid
granted under Article 29ter on the basis of the following
arguments:

(a) by letter dated 9 July 1991 (28), the Commission had
approved the draft decree amending the Economic
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970, stating that it
could not take a position on Articles 17 to 19 and
that it would examine the compatibility of those
articles on a case-by-case basis;

(b) the final version of

the decree adopted by the
Walloon Regional Council on 25 June 1992 differed
from the version of
the decree on which the
Commission had taken a position, but the changes
were very minor. As regards Articles 17 to 19, there
had been no changes of substance. The main change
was a merger of the three Articles into one single
Article 19. Other changes were of a purely linguistic
the
nature.
Commission agreed that the measures which it had
approved by letter dated 9 July 1991 could be
implemented.
it also identified the
letter,
Articles of the final version of the decree which it
considered to have been substantially amended and
which required a new authorisation procedure.
Article 19 was not one of the Articles identified in
this manner;

In its letter of 29 January 1993 (29),

In that

(22) Letter D/52407.
(23) Letter P11/533/68.255 and P11/533/69.298
(24) Letter SG(93) D/19520.
(25) Letter from the Commission to the Member States dated 27 April

1989 (Ref: SG(89) D/5521).

(26) Commission communication on the method for the application of
Article 92(3)(a) and (c) to regional aid (OJ C 212, 12.8.1988, p.
2), and guidelines on national regional aid (OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p.
9).

(27) See footnote 12.
(28) See footnote 3.
(29) Letter DG IV.E.3-D/06258.

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(c)

in view of the fact that no specific mention was
made of the need to re-examine Article 19 of the
final version of the decree, the Walloon authorities
considered that the Commissions’ agreement to the
implementation of the measures approved on 9 July
1991 also covered that Article.

(31)

(cid:145)The aid favours certain undertakings(cid:146):
the selectivity
criterion is met because the aid is granted solely to
firms
located in the Walloon region which are
participating in Community industrial programmes for
which specific
international agreements have been
concluded.

(25)

The Belgian authorities did not comment on the doubts
expressed by the Commission as to the compatibility of
the scheme with the common market.

(32)

(26)

By letter dated 13 February 1998 (30),
the Belgian
authorities informed the Commission that the Walloon
Regional Council had abrogated Article 29ter of
the
Economic Expansion Act, as amended by the decree of
25 June 1992.

IV. ASSESSMENT OF THE AID

Regarding the existence of aid:

(33)

(27)

The Commission takes the view that the aid scheme
established by Article 29ter of the Economic Expansion
Act of 30 December 1970, as amended by the decree of
25 June 1992, constitutes State aid within the meaning
of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty because it meets all the
conditions governing the application of Article 87(1) of
the EC Treaty. The reasons for this are set out below.

(28)

(cid:145)Aid in any form whatsoever(cid:146): under the scheme, aid is
granted in the form of guarantees and recoverable
advances.

(29)

(cid:145)Aid(cid:146): the scheme does not contain provisions requiring
the recipients of guarantees to pay a premium for those
guarantees. Nor are there provisions requiring recipients
to pay charges or interest on advances granted under
the scheme. The fact that the guarantee can give rise to
a significant
is
illustrated by the fax dated 15 March 1993 from the
Walloon regional
the
Walloon Executive had decided to allocate BEF 315
million (around EUR 7,8 million) as partial cover for
exchange-rate fluctuations.

resources to a recipient

transfer of

confirming

authorities

that

(30)

(cid:145)Aid granted by the Member State or through State
resources(cid:146):
in this case, aid is granted by the regional
the Walloon Region, namely the
government of
Walloon Executive. It is also financed from the budget
of the Walloon region.

(30) See footnote 21.

trends

in exchange

(cid:145)The aid distorts or threatens to distort competition(cid:146): the
guarantees protect recipients from the consequences of
unfavourable
rates or other
economic indicators (such as labour costs). In this way,
recipients are shielded from fluctuations
in general
the normal
economic variables which are part of
interplay of market forces. Such aid therefore provides
recipients with an artificial edge over their competitors,
who have to face the same situation without aid.
interest-free advances under
Equally, the provision of
their
recipients over
the scheme artificially favours
competitors, who have to pay the market interest rate
to obtain financing from capital markets.
in order
Clearly, providing advantages of
this type to certain
competitors and not others may distort competition.

the Commission may confine

(cid:145)The aid distorts competition in so far as it affects trade
between Member States(cid:146): in the case of an aid scheme
such as Article 29ter (as opposed to ad hoc aid), the
Court of Justice has ruled as follows: (cid:145)In the case of an
aid programme
to
the programme in
examining the characteristics of
question in order to determine whether, by reason of
the high amounts or percentages of aid, the nature of
investments for which aid is granted or other terms of
the programme,
it gives an appreciable advantage to
recipients in relation to their competitors and is likely to
benefit
in particular undertakings engaged in trade
between Member States(cid:146) (31) (emphasis added).

itself

is applicable to all

Article 29ter
(with the
exception of those for which special EU State aid rules
are in force). Clearly, therefore, the scheme could also
be applied to companies engaged in economic activities
involving trade between Member States.

sectors

Regarding the lawfulness of the aid:

(34)

In their letter of 10 February 1994 (32),
the Belgian
the aid
authorities disputed the unlawful nature of
granted
the
Commission had given its approval to the scheme in its
letter of 28 January 1993 (33).

under Article

arguing

29ter,

that

(31) Case 248/84 Germany v Commission [1987] ECR 4013.
(32) See footnote 12.
(33) See footnote 29.

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(35)

letter of 28 January 1993,

In its
the Commission
endorsed the implementation of those notified measures
which had been approved on 9 July 1991 (letter SG(91)
D/12925) and which had not been amended since that
date.

(41)

In spite of the title of the scheme (which refers to the
granting of incentives and guarantees for the carrying
out of European industrial programmes covered by
specific international agreements), the Commission takes
the view that Article 87(3)(b) of the EC Treaty does not
apply either:

(36) Article 19 of the decree of 25 June 1992 amending the
Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970 (34)
does not meet either of the conditions specified by the
Commission:

(a)

the approval Decision of 9 July 1991 covered only
Articles 1 to 16 of the draft decree amending the
Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970.
Articles 17 to 19 of the draft decree (Article 19 of
the final version of
the decree) were specifically
excluded from the approval decision;

(b)

in their letter,
the Belgian authorities themselves
recognise that Article 19 was one of the articles to
which (minor) amendments were made in the final
version of the decree adopted on 25 June 1992 by
the Walloon Regional Council.

(37)

In its Decision of 17 January 1994 (35) approving the
amended parts of
the decree of 25 June 1992 (NN
the Commission reiterated that the approval
113/29,
the decree,
Decision did not concern Article 19 of
which added the new Article 29ter to the Economic
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970.

(a) Article 29bis of

the Belgian Economic Expansion
Act of 30 December 1970, as amended by the
decree of 25 June 1992, provides that
the aid
specified in Article 29ter of that Act may be granted
by the Executive to companies
in the region
participating in a European industrial programme
on the basis of provisions set out in an agreement
between the State and the region. The scheme does
not specify the criteria to be used by the Walloon
authorities
individual
projects or programmes are eligible for the aid.
Given that these criteria have not been specified (36)
the Commission takes the vie that the scheme is too
vague to qualify for exemption as provided for in
Article 87(3)(b) of the EC Treaty for (cid:145)aid to promote
the execution of an important project of common
European interest(cid:146) (emphasis added) (37);

determining whether

in

(b) the scheme is not

intended to remedy a serious

distortion in the Belgian economy.

the Belgian
It should also be borne in mind that
authorities have not claimed exemption for the scheme
on the basis of Article 87(3)(b).

Regarding the compatibility of the aid:

(42) Article 87(3)(d) of

because the scheme in question is not
promote culture or heritage conservation.

the EC Treaty is not applicable
intended to

(38) Having established that Article 29ter constituted State
aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of
the EC
Treaty, the Commission examined whether it qualified
for one of the derogations provided for in Article 87(2)
and (3) of the EC Treaty.

(39)

In the case of Article 29ter, the Commission takes the
view that the exemptions provided for in Article 87(2)
of the EC Treaty do not apply since the aid measure
does not pursue any of
the objectives listed in that
Article; nor has Belgium argued that this might be the
case.

(40) Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty does not apply since
no part of Wallonia has ever qualified for regional aid
under Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty.

(34) Article 19 of the decree of 25 June 1992 amends the Economic
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970 by inserting the new Article
29ter .

(35) See footnote 9.

(43)

In the light of the above, the Commission has examined
the aid on the basis of Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty.
This has prompted the following observations:

(a) Article 29ter enables

to
provide guarantees or advances to firms without

the Belgian authorities

(36) This

failure to indicate the criteria is

the reason why the
Commission did not take a position on the scheme (then Articles
17 to 19 of the draft decree) in its letter of 9 July 1991 (SG(91
D/12925) and reserved the right to examine whether the scheme
was compatible in the light of the practical arrangements for its
implementation, which were to be notified to it on a case-by-case
basis, as Belgium had undertaken to do.

for

framework
in all

(37) In this connection, it should be noted that, in accordance with the
and
Community
development,
the
Commission concludes that the purpose of the aid in question is
to promote the execution of an important project of common
European interest,
the derogation
contained in Article 87(3)(b)(OJ C 45, 17.2.1996, p. 5, point 3.2).

State
cases where,

that aid may qualify for

research
examination,

aid
after

for

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reference to any initial
investment or job creation
in accordance with the
by the recipient
Community rules applying to national regional aid
both at the time and now (38);

firms,

(f)

it should also be borne in mind that

lastly,
the
Belgian authorities have not requested exemption
for the schemes pursuant to Article 87(3)(c).

(b)

in other words,
the scheme enables the Belgian
authorities to grant, throughout the entire territory
of Wallonia, aid intended to reduce the recipients’
normal current costs. Such aid constitutes (cid:145)operating
aid(cid:146);

(c)

on

in several communications, and in particular its
communication on the method for the application
of Article 92(3)(a) and (c) to regional aid and in the
the
guidelines
Commission has
its
indicated that,
particularly distorting effect, operating aid may be
considered compatible with the common market
only in regions qualifying under Article 87(3)(a) and
provided that certain strict conditions are met;

aid (39),
in view of

national

regional

(d) no part of

the Walloon region qualifies under
Article 87(3)(a). In fact, the Walloon region is only
partially eligible under Article 87(3)(c);

(e)

environmental protection (41),

environmental protection projects,
to rescue
training projects or

the scope of Article 29ter is not limited to R & D
job
projects,
creation,
and
restructuring projects
in accordance with the
Community framework for State aid for research
and development (40), the Community guidelines on
the
State aid for
guidelines on aid to employment (42), the framework
on training aid (43) or the Community guidelines on
State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in
difficulty (44). Nor is the scheme restricted to SMEs
as defined in the Community guidelines on State aid
for SMEs (45). The Commission therefore concludes
that the aid granted under Article 29ter does not
qualify for the derogation provided for in the above
frameworks and guidelines either;

(38) See footnote 26.
(39) See footnote 26.
(40) OJ C 83, 11.4.1986, p.2;
OJ C 45, 17.2.1996, p.5.
(41) OJ C 72, 10.3.1994, p.3.
(42) OJ C 334, 12.12.1995, p. 4.
(43) OJ C 343, 11.11.1998, p.10.
(44) OJ C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 12.
(45) OJ C 213, 19.8.1992, p. 4.

In the light of the above, the Commission concludes
that Article 29ter does not qualify for any of
the
derogations provided for in Article 87(3)(c).

(44) On the basis of the analysis presented in paragraphs 39
to 43, the Commission takes the view that Article 29ter
of the Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970,
as amended by the decree of 25 June 1992, does not
qualify for any of
in
Article 87(2) and (3) and that Article 29ter is therefore
incompatible with the common market.

the derogations provided for

V. CONCLUSION

(45)

(46)

(47)

The Commission finds that Belgium has unlawfully
the Belgian Economic
implemented Article 29ter of
Expansion Act of 30 December 1970, as amended by
the decree of 25 June 1992, in breach of Article 88(3)
of the EC Treaty.

The Commission also finds that Article 29ter of
the
Belgian Economic Expansion Act of 30 December 1970,
as amended by the decree of 25 June 1992,
is
incompatible with the common market.

Pursuant to Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No
659/1999, and with a view to restoring competition, all
State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC
Treaty granted under Article 29ter must be recovered
without delay. The aid to be recovered includes interest
at a rate equal to the reference rate. Recovery must be
effected in accordance with the procedures of Belgian
they allow the immediate and
law, provided that
effective execution of the Commission’s Decision. To
that end, Belgium should take all necessary measures to
ensure the effective implementation of the Commission’s
Decision.

(48)

The Commission takes note of the fact that the Walloon
Regional Council has already abrogated Article 29ter
and that
this Decision was published in the Belgian
Official Gazette on 4 February 1998. The measures
concerned have therefore already been terminated,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Article 29ter of the Belgian Economic Expansion Act of 30
December 1970, as amended by the decree of 25 June 1992,
is incompatible with the common market.

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Article 2

Article 3

1.
Belgium shall take all necessary measures to recover from
the recipients the aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of
the EC Treaty unlawfully made available under the aid scheme
referred to in Article 1.

Recovery

shall be

effected without delay

2.
and in
accordance with the procedures of national law provided that
they allow the immediate and effective execution of
this
Decision. The aid to be recovered shall include interest from
the date on which it was made available to the recipients until
the date of its recovery. Interest shall be calculated on the basis
of the reference rate used for calculating the grant-equivalent
of regional aid.

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

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium.

Done at Brussels, 29 March 2000.

For the Commission

Mario MONTI

Member of the Commission