2003/592/EC: Commission Decision of 13 May 2003 on the State aid which Belgium is planning to implement for Opel Belgium NV (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2003) 1486)
Date: 2003-05-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, State aid, aid for restructuring, motor vehicle industry, updating of skills

8.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 201/21

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 13 May 2003

on the State aid which Belgium is planning to implement for Opel Belgium NV

(notified under document number C(2003) 1486)

(Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/592/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID

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

(4)

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 the provisions cited above (1),

Whereas:

PROCEDURE

(5)

(1)

(2)

(3)

The planned aid was notified to the Commission by
letter dated 2 July 2002. The Commission requested
further information on 20 August 2002. Belgium replied
on 23 September 2002.

The Commission decided on 27 November 2002 to
initiate proceedings pursuant
the
Treaty, as it found that doubts were raised as to the
compatibility of
the aid with the common market.
Belgium submitted its comments on the initiation of
proceedings by letter dated 28 January 2003.

to Article 88(2) of

The Commission decision to initiate proceedings was
published in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities (2), with an invitation to interested parties to submit
their comments on the aid. However, no comments
from interested parties were received.

(1) OJ C 2, 7.1.2003, p. 7.
(2) See footnote 1.

The beneficiary of the aid is to be Opel Belgium NV,
which is situated in Antwerp and owned by the General
Motors Corporation. The Opel Antwerp plant currently
employs 5 914 people and assembles the Opel Astra
model. As part of a major restructuring project being
implemented by General Motors Europe (‘Olympia plan’),
General Motors intends to invest around EUR 320
million in the Antwerp plant in order to extend the
existing press shop and to retool the plant for the repla-
cement Astra and another new model. According to
Belgium, an extensive staff retraining programme is
necessary in the context of these investments.

The Belgian authorities propose to grant training aid of
EUR 16,93 million (net present value EUR 15,26
from 2003 to
million) over a period of three years,
2005. The proposed aid is to be granted as ad hoc aid
from the Flemish Community. The total eligible cost of
the training project is EUR 46,6 million. According to
the notification, the programme includes elements of
specific training amounting to EUR 25,54 million and
general
training measures amounting to EUR 21,06
million.

GROUNDS FOR INITIATING THE PROCEDURE

(6)

In its Decision of 27 November 2002 to initiate
proceedings, the Commission expressed doubts on the
way the Belgian authorities interpreted the definition of
general as opposed to specific training. It could not be
excluded that an excessively wide definition of general
training was being applied to the project.

(7)

(8)

(9)

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Official Journal of the European Union

8.8.2003

The Commission's doubts as regards the inclusion of
specific training measures among measures described as
general training measures concerned in particular the
training courses ‘Theoretical concepts of press shop
operations’ and ‘Preparation and introduction of a new
model’. In both cases it seemed that the courses might
involve tuition directly and principally applicable to the
employee's position in the specific car plant and there
were doubts as to what extent the qualifications were
transferable to other firms or fields of work.

COMMENTS FROM BELGIUM

ASSESSMENT OF THE AID

(12) According to Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, any aid
granted by a Member State or through State resources in
any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to
distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or
in so far as it
the production of certain goods shall,
affects trade between Member States, be incompatible
with the common market. Pursuant to the established
case law of the European Courts, the criterion of trade
being affected is met if the recipient firm carries out an
economic activity involving trade between Member
States.

In its comments on the initiation of proceedings
submitted on 28 January 2003, Belgium stated that the
two training courses on which the Commission had
expressed doubts should indeed be classified as specific
training measures, and it amended its notified aid
proposal accordingly.

(13)

On this basis, Belgium provided a revised, detailed break-
figures on the eligible training costs and
down of
planned aid. According to these data,
the general
training costs amount to EUR 11 964 710 and cover
activities related to:

— theoretical

training

on

new

machinery:

EUR 2 776 438,

— general training: EUR 3 000 000,

— training

in

lean

production

principles:

(14)

EUR 4 955 847,

— general coordination: EUR 1 232 425.

(10)

The specific training costs amount to EUR 34 661 609
and cover activities related to:

— press shop training: EUR 5 107 000,

— practical

training

in

new

machinery:

EUR 5 022 384,

— preparation and introduction of a new model:

EUR 18 520 158,

— implementation of lean production: EUR 5 991 067,

— depreciation: EUR 21 000.

(11) On this basis, Belgium amended its notified aid proposal
and informed the Commission that it intended to grant
EUR 5,98 million for general training (50 % of eligible
costs) and EUR 8,66 million for specific training (25 %
of eligible costs).

resources

The Commission notes that the notified training aid is
granted through State
to an individual
company, favouring it by reducing the costs it would
normally have to bear if it wanted to implement the
notified training programme
its
employees to acquire new skills. Moreover, the recipient
of the aid, Opel Belgium NV, is a company that designs,
manufactures and sells motor vehicles, which is an
economic activity involving trade between Member
States. The training aid in question therefore falls within
the scope of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.

to enable

so as

Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January
2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC
Treaty to training aid (1)
(‘the Regulation’) applies to
training aid in all sectors and provides that aid fulfilling
all the conditions of the Regulation shall be compatible
with the common market and shall be exempt from the
notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty,
provided that the measure contains an express reference
to the Regulation.

(15) Article 5 of the Regulation provides that the notification
requirement continues to apply if the amount of aid
granted to one enterprise for a single training project
exceeds EUR 1 million. The Commission notes that the
notified aid in this case amounts to approximately
EUR 16,93 million, that it is to be paid to one enter-
prise and that the training project is a single project. The
the notification relates to an
Commission notes that
individual aid measure that
is not granted under an
approved scheme. The Commission therefore considers
that the notification requirement applies to the proposed
aid and, in accordance with recital 4 of the Regulation,
that the notification must be assessed in particular in the
light of the criteria set out in the Regulation.

(1) OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 20.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(16) Under Article 3(1) of the Regulation, individual aid shall
be compatible with the common market within the
meaning of Article 87(3)(c) if it fulfils all of the condi-
tions of the Regulation.

(17)

The Commission notes that
the distinction between
specific training and general training is drawn under
Article 4 of the Regulation. Specific training is defined in
Article 2 as training involving tuition directly and princi-
pally applicable to the employee's present or future posi-
tion in the assisted firm and providing qualifications
which are not, or only to a limited extent, transferable
to other firms or fields of work.

(18) General training is defined in Article 2 as training invol-
ving tuition which is not applicable only or principally
to the employees' present or future position in the
assisted firm, but which provides qualifications that are
largely transferable to other firms or fields of work and
thereby substantially improve the employability of the
employee. It is linked to the overall activities of the firm
and provides qualifications which are largely transferable
to other firms or to other fields of work. Training is
considered to be general
it is jointly
independent enterprises, or if
organised by different
employees of different firms may avail themselves of the
training; or if it is recognised, certified or validated by
public authorities or bodies or institutions on which a
Member State or the Community has conferred the
necessary powers.

if, for example,

(19)

The eligible costs of a training aid project are listed
under Article 4(7) of the Regulation. As regards trainees'
personnel costs, Belgium confirmed that only hours
during which the trainees actually participate in the
training have been taken into account. In accordance
the Regulation, only trainees'
with Article 4(7)(f) of
personnel costs have been taken into account up to the
amount of the total of the other eligible costs referred to
in Article 4(7)(a) to (e). On the basis of the information
provided by Belgium, the Commission notes that the
total eligible cost of the training programme amounts to
EUR 46,6 million.

(22)

(23)

(24)

(25)

In both these courses,

operations’ and ‘Preparation and introduction of a new
model’.
indicated as general
training, it seemed that they should in fact be charac-
terised as specific training measures as they seemed to
involve tuition directly and principally applicable to the
employee's position in the specific car plant and as there
were doubts as to what extent the qualifications were
transferable to other firms or fields of work.

In its comments on the initiation of proceedings
submitted on 28 January 2003, Belgium agreed that the
two training
courses on which the Commission
expressed doubts should indeed be classified as specific
training measures. Belgium provided a revised, detailed
breakdown of figures on the eligible training costs and
planned aid. On this basis, the Commission notes that
the general training costs amount to EUR 11 964 710
and the specific training costs to EUR 34 661 609.

The applicable aid intensity ceiling for specific training is
25 % of the eligible costs, and the applicable aid inten-
sity ceiling for general training is 50 % of eligible costs.
consequently
to
allowable
The
EUR 5 982 355
and
general
EUR 8 665 402 for specific training.

amounts

aid
for

training

for

the

total

project

allowable

is
aid
The
EUR 14 647 757. This amount comprises a training
voucher awarded from the Flemish Community Ministry
amounting to EUR 1 500. The Commission notes that
the remaining amount of EUR 14 646 257 will be paid
in three equal yearly instalments during the period 2003
to 2005.

CONCLUSION

of

In view of the above, the training aid having a nominal
training
value of EUR 14 647 757,
voucher
of
EUR 14 646 257 payable in three equal yearly instal-
fulfils the
ments during the period 2003 to 2005,
criteria governing compatibility with the
common
market pursuant to Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty,

comprising
and

EUR 1 500

amount

an

a

(20) According to Article 4(2) and (3), training aid is compa-
tible with the common market if it complies with the
aid intensities set out therein, in relation to eligible costs.
Under the terms of the Regulation, the maximum aid
intensities that can be authorised for the project in ques-
tion, which is carried out by a large firm, are 25 % for
specific training and 50 % for general training.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

(21)

In its decision of 27 November 2002 to initiate proceed-
ings, the Commission expressed doubts on the way the
Belgian authorities interpreted the definition of general
as opposed to specific training, in particular as regards
the training courses ‘Theoretical concepts of press shop

The State aid for training which Belgium is planning to imple-
ment for Opel Belgium NV amounting to EUR 14 647 757 in
nominal terms, comprising a training voucher of EUR 1 500
and an amount of EUR 14 646 257 payable in three equal
yearly instalments during the period 2003 to 2005, is compa-
tible with the common market within the meaning of Article
87 of the Treaty.

L 201/24

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Official Journal of the European Union

8.8.2003

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 13 May 2003.

For the Commission

Mario MONTI

Member of the Commission