WRITTEN QUESTION E-2270/00 by Dominique Souchet (UEN) to the Commission. Penalties imposed on the Crédit Mutuel.
Date: 2000-07-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: control of State aid, intra-EU trade, people's bank, savings

C 89 E/172

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

under Title VI of the TEU (Grotius, Oisin, Stop and Falcone), Odysseus pursues the general objectives of a
better understanding of
the problems involved in these fields and aims to promote a Community
dimension among the players (administrations, non-governmental organisations, international institutions,
academics) in charge of these questions.

Nonetheless, the Commission has always ensured, in its annual programme, that a significant share of the
budget is allocated to carrying out measures with topical relevance. Thus, if we take the selection made for
the year 2000 as an example, the programme(cid:146)s management committee selected 13 projects (out of 36)
proposed by the Commission on the fight against illegal immigration, trafficking in human beings and the
irregular crossing of the Union(cid:146)s external borders.

3.
In the light of the new developments introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, the objectives of the
Vienna action plan aimed at creating an area of freedom, security and justice and the conclusions of the
Tampere European Council, the Commission considers that the imminent expiry of the programme(cid:146)s
funding and legal basis should provide an opportunity to finalise a Community instrument meeting the
new needs arising from the development of common policies in the fields covered by Articles 62 and 63
of the EC Treaty.

(1) OJ L 99, 31.3.1998.

(2001/C 89 E/194)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2270/00

by Dominique Souchet (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Penalties imposed on the CrØdit Mutuel

(7 July 2000)

The prospect of a Community decision to impose an enormous fine on the CrØdit Mutuel because of the
so-called State aid from which the (cid:145)Livret Bleu(cid:146) savings account is said to have benefited is causing
legitimate concern not only to the 5 million holders of the account in question and the 27 000 voluntary
elected representatives who have generously donated their time and skills in the service of the members of
the company, but also to all those, many of whom are elected members of French local councils, who have
a deep attachment to the mutualist spirit of local solidarity which has been, and continues to be, a decisive
factor of economic development for many French regions.

the end of an audit whose assessments, particularly those of a qualitative nature, are highly
At
questionable, it would appear that the Commission is leaning towards imposing a penalty which would
be both highly unjust and completely useless.

Unjust because the CrØdit Mutuel is an institution which performs tasks of public interest (cid:129) particularly in
the areas of local development and local-authority housing (cid:129) but has never made use of public funds,
unlike many other institutions, to help it out of the banking disasters it has sometimes suffered.

Useless because behind the complaint by the AFB (Association of French Banks), which refers exclusively
to matters of competition (although the volume of savings represented by the (cid:145)Livret Bleu(cid:146) (cid:129) 1,4 % of
French savings, 0,2 % of European savings (cid:129) is clearly in no position to distort competition) is hidden the
wish to see widespread distribution of such a tool, something to which the CrØdit Mutuel has no objection,
but only on condition that the practical
implications and rules are seriously discussed and the CrØdit
Mutuel is not subject to discriminatory treatment.

In this context,
the application of a penalty would certainly be a source of conflict, whereas the
establishment being penalised proposes a negotiated, equitable and satisfactory solution, for the plaintiffs
as well as everyone else. It is incomprehensible under these conditions that the Commission should persist
in a repressive course of relentlessly pursuing the CrØdit Mutuel, unless the real aim of the Commission is
to attack, not the modest product constituted by the (cid:145)Livret Bleu(cid:146), but the very principle of public savings
collection, against which we know that the trans-Atlantic financial institutions harbour a deep hostility,
refusing to take account of its role in economic development, particularly in the areas of SMEs and social
solidarity.

20.3.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/173

Can the Commission assure us that it has absolutely no intention of imposing an unjustifiable fine on the
CrØdit Mutuel or of dismantling the French system of public savings collection by retreating into a
restrictive interpretation of the Community competition rules, thus favouring external financial interests
which are entirely alien and hostile to our deep-rooted, living tradition of mutualist solidarity?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(13 September 2000)

The task facing the Commission as a result of the request to it by French and other competitors of CrØdit
Mutuel
(CM) to determine whether state aid is involved in the Livret Bleu, very much a sui generis
mechanism, is major. The system combines tax exemption on a savings product with the carrying-out of a
task in the public interest. Whilst it is true that the bank is acting as an intermediary, it is necessary to
determine under Article 86(2) (formerly Article 90) of the EC Treaty whether the exclusive right to
distribute a tax-exempt savings product is likely to give CM advantages exceeding the costs of the task in
the general economic interest entrusted to it by the State.

The Commission does not dispute either the purpose or the extension of general interest tasks. However, it
must check whether the mechanism used has not unduly overcompensated CrØdit Mutuel. Such over-
compensation would amount to incompatible state aid.

In order to arrive at a correct assessment of the system-related costs and income for CM, it is necessary to
study in detail the relationship between the State, the bank and its customers. A study of this nature would
already be complex because of the triangular nature of the problem, but it is further complicated by the
fact that the system in question must take account of two of CM(cid:146)s characteristics: the lack of separate
analytical accounts for the Livret Bleu and the fact that a bank like CM is a multi-product business.

For that reason, an analytical cost accounting study of CM has been carried out and an expert assessment
of the undue effects of the Livret Bleu on the bank(cid:146)s other activities is underway.

The Commission does not intend to impose a penalty or a fine on the bank, nor does it have the means to
do so. But it must restore fair competition, if necessary by requiring the repayment of any aid which
exceeds the amount justified by the task in the general interest entrusted to the bank by the French State
and which does not qualify for exemption under any of the other provisions of Article 87 (formerly
Article 92) of the Treaty. It should be noted in this respect that CM is in direct competition with the other
Community banking institutions, offering as it does the same financial products other than the Livret Bleu.

It is not for the Commission to propose a solution for the future: its sole task is to examine whether any
solutions that may be proposed by the Member State are compatible with the Treaty.

(2001/C 89 E/195)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2276/00

by Reinhold Messner (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Italian Tyrrhenian-Brenner motorway link

(7 July 2000)

Autocisa and Autobrennero, the motorway operators, intend to build a motorway link called the (cid:145)Tibre(cid:146)
(Tirreno-Brennero) for which they have proposed two alternative routes: the upper route, supported by
Autocisa, from Nogarole Rocca to Fontevivo di Parma, and the lower route, favoured by Autobrennero,
from Mantua South to Fontevivo di Parma. Meanwhile, a link between the two motorways is already being
constructed and involves the upgrading of the Cispadano road from Autobrennero(cid:146)s Reggiolo Rolo exit to
Parma. This road is being financed by the Italian State, the Emilia-Romagna region and Autobrennero.
Once it is completed there is a risk that the (cid:145)Tibre(cid:146) link, whatever the route chosen, will simply duplicate
existing infrastructure serving the same area (1).