2004/820/EC: Commission Decision of 7 May 2004 on the state aid granted by Germany to Fairchild Dornier GmbH (Dornier) (notified under document number C(2004) 1621)Text with EEA relevance
Date: 2004-05-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Germany, State aid, aeronautical industry, aid for restructuring, control of State aid

L 357/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.12.2004

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 May 2004

on the state aid granted by Germany to Fairchild Dornier GmbH (Dornier)

(notified under document number C(2004) 1621)

(Only the German version is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2004/820/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

establishing the European
Having regard to the Treaty
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 called on interested parties to submit their comments
pursuant to the provisions cited above (1) and having regard to
their comments,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

1. PROCEDURE

On 19 July 2002 the Commission authorised rescue
aid (2) for Fairchild Dornier GmbH (‘Dornier’). The aid
consisted of a guarantee with a three-month maturity.
On 6 August 2002 Germany notified the Commission
that it intended to extend the guarantee and commu-
nicated to it additional measures in favour of Dornier.

On 5 February 2003 a formal
investigation procedure
was initiated into the extension of the guarantee and
the additional measures (3). Germany’s
reply to the
initiation of
the investigation procedure was received
on 2 April 2003, and the last information supplied by
Germany on 3 December 2003 No comments were
submitted by third parties during the investigation
procedure.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE AID

2.1. Dornier

to

From 1996 the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier
belonged
Fairchild
Aerospace. With some 3 600 employees, Dornier manu-
factured aircraft and aircraft parts in Oberpfaffenhofen-
facilities and business
Wessling, Bavaria. The plant

the American

company

(1) OJ C 67, 20.3.2003, p. 2.
(2) OJ C 239, 4.10.2002, p. 2.
(3) See footnote 2.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

premises in the United States were sold off. In March
2002 Dornier filed for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy proceedings were opened on 1 July 2002. At
the same time the employees were divided into an active
group and a passive group, the plan being to dismiss the
latter, which accounted for about half the workforce. The
employees in the passive group ceased working and were
included in a social plan, which was partly financed by a
state corporation. On 20 December 2002 the bankruptcy
trustee decided to liquidate the undertaking and sell the
assets separately.

There were two separate asset deals: aircraft manufacture
and customer services were sold to AvCraft Aerospace
GmbH and AvCraft International Ltd, while the manu-
facture of Airbus parts and aviation services were trans-
ferred to Ruag Holding (Switzerland). According to
Germany,
transparent
procedure.

this was done

in an open,

2.2. Financial measures

Extension of the guarantee

On 19 July 2002 the Commission authorised a 50 %
deficiency guarantee by the Federal Government and
Bavaria for a loan of USD 90 million. The guarantee
was authorised as rescue aid for the requested period
of three months. The period began when the authori-
sation was granted and would have ended on 20
September 2002.

On 6 August 2002 Germany applied for an extension of
the guarantee until 20 December 2002, i.e. for a further
three months, so that Dornier could carry on operating
during the search for a financial partner. The terms of the
guarantee remained unchanged. The guarantee related to
the same loan, which had not been fully utilised. It was
formally
terminated on 20 December 2002. The
extension until that date is the subject of this Decision.

2.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 357/37

(8)

(9)

Social measures

informed that

In the second notification of 6 August 2002 the
Commission was
the Federal Labour
Office (Bundesanstalt
für Arbeit) had agreed to cover
some EUR 12,6 million of a social plan costing a total
of EUR 20,6 million for the 1 800 employees faced with
dismissal. The remaining EUR 8 million were financed by
the undertaking. The Federal Labour Office measure is
also the subject of this Decision.

According to Germany, the measures were not used to
pay wages or redundancy money, but to finance the
following costs: individual support for employees, iden-
tifying their strengths and weaknesses, setting goals,
training, measures to promote mobility, decentralisation,
setting up a job agency, etc. The group of employees
covered by the social plan ceased working.

were carried out openly and transparently and the assets
sold at market prices, an assessment of the measures
would not be necessary.

(11)

The formal investigation under Article 88(2) of the EC
Treaty of
the measures described was thus rendered
unnecessary,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The formal investigation procedure under Article 88(2) of the
EC Treaty initiated with regard to Fairchild Dornier GmbH on 5
February 2003 is terminated.

Article 2

3. CONCLUSION

This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany.

(10)

The guarantee was terminated in December 2002 after a
total period of six months. The social plan drawn up for
employees in the passive group also ended in December
2002. Dornier was then liquidated, and its assets were
transferred to different investors. The beneficiary of the
measures no longer exists therefore. Consequently, and
since according to Germany the liquidation proceedings

Done at Brussels, 7 May 2004.

For the Commission

Mario MONTI
Member of the Commission