WRITTEN QUESTION E-3085/03 by Bruno Gollnisch (NI) to the Commission. Crédit Lyonnais / Executive Life.
Date: 2003-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, State aid, United States, aid for restructuring, bank, control of State aid, fine, insurance company, purchase

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/215

(2004/C 70 E/230)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3085/03

by Bruno Gollnisch (NI) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Crédit Lyonnais / Executive Life

A US court is demanding that the Crédit Lyonnais bank pay a fine of USD 575 million for the allegedly
illegal takeover of an insurance company by a bank.

There are two possible views of this case.

Either the Crédit Lyonnais management are genuinely at fault.

Why then should the French authorities take on the personal responsibilities of the Crédit Lyonnais
management? Does the Commission, which has recently been so strict about restrictions on state aids,
consider it compatible with EU law that the French state (cid:1) and hence French taxpayers (cid:1) should pay 4/5
of the fine imposed on the bank?

Alternatively, the Crédit Lyonnais are not at fault. If this is the case, will the Commission, which no doubt
knew of the operation when the takeover actually took place, explain its present silence on the matter?
Will it also specify whether, in accordance with the reciprocity rule, US banks are prohibited from owning
more than 25 % of the capital of European insurance companies and, if so, what penalties are applied for
violation of this prohibition?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

The Commission adopted the decisions concerning aid granted by France to the Crédit Lyonnais on
26 July 1995 and on 20 May 1998. The risk for the Crédit Lyonnais and for the French state of a
potential fine payment to the United States for the alleged mismanagement related to the take-over of the
Californian insurance company Executive Life in 1991 was already provisioned and taken into account in
the restructuring plan of the Crédit Lyonnais. When the Commission assessed the restructuring plan of the
Crédit Lyonnais, the French authorities provided the information on bad assets and risks. A special hive-off
vehicle, ‘Consortium de Réalisation’ (CDR), a hiving-off consortium for taking over the compromised assets
of Crédit Lyonnais, was set up in order to restructure the bank and return it back to viability. The risk
related to the take-over of the Californian insurance company Executive Life in 1991 represented a part of
hived-off assets.

Considering the above stated, the Commission is currently not assessing any State aid issue and legal
consequences of the acquisition of the Executive Life, which was carried out in 1991, since this issue was
taken into account in the decisions already adopted by the Commission.

(2004/C 70 E/231)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3094/03

by Harald Ettl (PSE) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Mobbing in the workplace

The European Commission has frequently emphasised that it will draw up efficient policy measures to
combat the phenomenon known as ‘mobbing in the workplace’ and publish a Green Paper which will
include a detailed analysis, an action plan and a specific timetable.

What measures will the European Commission take in order to review the appropriateness and the scope
of a specific Community instrument concerning mobbing in the workplace?