WRITTEN QUESTION E-3087/02 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. State aid to the German pulp industry.
Date: 2002-10-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Germany, State aid, Sweden, control of State aid, pulp and paper industry, regional aid, restriction on competition

C 161 E/64

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

This programme is funded from EIB’s own resources and does not involve any financial support from the
Community budget. The terms and conditions of the loans are exclusively determined by the EIB according
to their normal practice.

The improved availability of medium and long term funding in the Swedish market should in itself be of
independent of its pricing which, nevertheless,
prime value to small and medium enterprises (SMEs),
remains competitive with alternative products. The EIB’s priority remains to promote the availability of a
wider range of financial products in favour of SMEs, including new products as and when they become
available.

(2003/C 161 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3085/02

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 October 2002)

Subject: Competition on the feed market in Sweden

Some farmers in Sweden fear that competition on the Swedish feed market will be undermined once
Svenska Lantmännen takes over a minority holding of 49 % in Svenska Foder. Although Svenska
Lantmännen says that its Danish partner DLG will have operational responsibility, two directors’ posts will
fall to Svenska Lantmännen. It is not improbable either that Svenska Lantmännen and DLG will merge in
the future. In the agricultural sector, collaboration between the two companies may be strengthened.

Will the Commission examine this case to assess whether there is a risk that competition on the Swedish
feed market will now deteriorate?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2002)

According to a press release from the Danish agribusiness group DLG, it appears that DLG, under an
agreement with the Swedish agribusiness group Svenska Lantmännen, has indeed acquired a 51 % stake in
Svenska Foder AB, a Swedish company which operates inter alia on the animal feed market in southern
Sweden. Under the same agreement Svenska Lantmännen acquires 49 % of Svenska Foder.

DLG, in the said press release, also states that it will, in accordance with the competition rules, notify the
relevant agreements to the Swedish competition authorities.

It would seem, therefore, that the Swedish authorities will examine this transaction on the basis of the
relevant national legislation and asses whether there is a risk that competition on the Swedish feed market
will now deteriorate.

If, however,
would examine the case.

it would appear that the criteria for Community dimension are fulfilled, the Commission

(2003/C 161 E/068)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3087/02

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 October 2002)

Subject: State aid to the German pulp industry

According to the newspaper Dagens Industri, on 17 September 2002 the Commission approved state aid
and loan guarantees totalling SEK 6,5 billion to a huge pulp plant at Stendal in Germany. The Swedish
company Södra claims that the German state aid is a direct blow to their plans for expansion. Swedish

10.7.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/65

forestry companies receive no state aid for their investments and they therefore maintain that the German
state aid is distorting competition on the internal market.

Does the Commission consider that, if it approves the launch of other forest industry projects in the future
with the aid of taxpayers’ money, there is a risk of damaging Swedish companies in that industry?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(27 November 2002)

In June 2002 the Commission authorised aid to Zellstoff Stendal for the construction of a new pulp mill.
Investment costs amounted to some EUR 800 million. The aid amounts to around EUR 250 million.

The project is located in Eastern Germany, which is considered to be one of the less developed regions in
the Community. In these regions aid can be granted up to a level fixed by the Commission in order to
promote the economic development of these regions by supporting investment and job creation.

The project of Zellstoff Stendal has been approved on basis of the multisectoral framework on regional aid
for large investment projects. In assessing the compatibility of the aid under the multisectoral framework,
the Commission has also to take into account the capacity and market situation in the industry. This is
done by looking at the capacity and market situation and development over the last five years. In the
Stendal case the Commission found that the pulp sector did not suffer from over-capacities.

If another project in the same sector will be notified to the Commission by a Member State before
31 December 2003, the Commission will assess this project on its own merits, considering, in line with
the actual multisectoral framework rules, the capacity and market situation at the time the project will take
place, but also the regional impact of the project. If the project is notified after the 1 January 2004, the
new multisectoral rules will apply.

(2003/C 161 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3096/02

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(28 October 2002)

Subject: Financial control

The Enron scandal highlighted the fragility of financial stability and the interrelation between this and
audit firms in the USA and Europe.

For some years now, the number of large audit firms has been steadily decreasing. The upshot of this
structural change has been to limit the choice of large companies or multinationals looking for such a
firm.

The choice of a reliable audit firm has therefore become a major issue. The limited number of players in
the field of financial management control (there are only four such companies in the USA) is also a cause
for concern because, as the Enron episode has shown, there is an attendant risk of this situation
undermining the stability of the financial markets, which have already been weakened by a series of crises.

Over 80 % of the EU’s 100 largest undertakings in Belgium, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands call on the services of just four audit firms. This trend is clearly anticompetitive and tends
towards monopolisation of the world market by a few large specialist firms.

Will the Commission act to counter this negative trend, which greatly endangers the stability of the
markets, and what measures will it propose under Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty?