2008/697/EC: Commission Decision of 16 April 2008 on State Aid C 13/07 (ex NN 15/06 and N 734/06) implemented by Italy for New Interline (notified under document number C(2008) 1321) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-04-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, State aid, aid for restructuring, aid to undertakings, control of State aid, industrial restructuring

L 235/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.9.2008

COMMISSION DECISION

of 16 April 2008

on State Aid C 13/07 (ex NN 15/06 and N 734/06) implemented by Italy for New Interline

(notified under document number C(2008) 1321)

(Only the Italian version is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/697/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,
and in particular
Article 88(2) thereof,

establishing the European
subparagraph of
the

first

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 (1)
pursuant to those provisions,

Whereas:

1. PROCEDURE

(1)

By letter of 23 February 2006 the Italian authorities
notified the Commission of rescue aid to New Interline
S.p.A. (New Interline). The measure, registered as case NN
i.e.
15/06, was put into effect on 13 February 2006,
before the notification. The Commission requested addi­
tional information by letter dated 4 April 2006, to which
Italy replied by letter dated 29 May 2006. The
Commission requested further
information by letter
dated 28 July 2006, to which Italy replied by letters
dated 5 October 2006 and 6 November 2006.

(2) With notification of 10 November 2006, registered as N
734/06, the Italian authorities notified the Commission
restructuring plan for New Interline. The
of
Commission requested further
information by letter
to which Italy replied by
dated 22 December 2006,
letter dated 6 March 2007.

a

(3)

By letter of 25 April 2007 the Commission informed
Italy that by Decision of 24 April 2007 it had decided
that the rescue aid Italy had granted to New Interline was

(1) OJ C 120, 31.5.2007, p. 12.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

compatible with the common market in so far as it was
applied for six months. As regarded the extension of the
rescue aid beyond the six month period, as well as the
restructuring aid, the Commission had decided to initiate
the formal
investigation procedure under Article 88(2)
Treaty.

The Commission’s decision was published in the Official
Journal of the European Union. The Commission called on
interested parties to submit their comments. However, no
communication was received from the interested parties.

By letter of 30 May 2007 the Italian authorities informed
the Commission that New Interline had gone into
voluntary
to
withdraw the notification of restructuring aid. By letter
of 9 October 2007, the Italian authorities confirmed the
withdrawal of the notification.

liquidation and

intended

they

that

The Commission, by letter dated 16 November 2007,
requested Italy to provide further information concerning
the terms of
in
particular the consequences for the creditors of New
Interline. Italy replied by letter dated 28 January 2008.

the voluntary liquidation procedure,

2. RESCUE AID

The rescue aid measure consists of a guarantee by the
Ministry for Economic Development for a bank loan of
EUR 2,75 million. The guarantee was originally granted
for a period of six months, i.e. from 6 March 2006 to
6 September 2006. However,
the Commission was
informed that the guarantee was not terminated at the
end of this period.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 235/13

(8)

(9)

The Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and
restructuring firms in difficulty (the Guidelines) (1), state
in point 25(c) that in the case of non-notified aid the
Member State must communicate, no later
than six
months after the first implementation of the measure, a
restructuring plan or a liquidation plan or proof that the
loan has been reimbursed in full and/or
the
guarantee has been terminated.

that

Recovery of the rescue aid

(13)

The rescue aid, amounting to EUR 2,75 million, must
therefore be recovered by Italy from the beneficiary, New
Interline.

restructuring

In its Decision of 24 April 2007, the Commission noted
that the rescue aid had not been terminated after the
initial six-month period and that
Italy had failed to
present
plan within that period.
a
Therefore,
in its Decision the Commission stated that
the aid was compatible with the common market as
rescue aid as far as it was limited to six months, given
that it complied with all conditions, other than point
25(c), of
the Guidelines. However, as the rescue aid
had been extended beyond the initial six months, the
Commission had doubts about its compatibility and so
decided to initiate the procedure referred to in point 27
of the Guidelines (2).

(14)

In this respect Italy informed the Commission in its letter
of 28 January 2008 that on 4 May 2007 the Italian
authorities, as a surrogate of New Interline, paid the
total value of the loan plus interest to Banca Anton­
veneta, which had granted the loan guaranteed by the
State. Subsequently, in the context of the voluntary liqui­
dation procedure, on 7 June 2007 the Italian authorities
asked the Avvocatura Distrettuale di Bari to start actions
to satisfy the State’s claim on the company.

(15) On 18 November 2007 New Interline decided to apply
for admission to a settlement
to the Court of Bari
procedure
company
creditors
(procedura di concordato preventivo) which allows for the
payment of the creditors' claims under Court supervision.
This procedure may lead to the company continuing its
production activities.

between

and

the

(10)

In the above-mentioned Decision the Commission also
noted that it would assess whether the illegally extended
rescue aid could be considered compatible on other
grounds within the meaning of point 20 of
the
Guidelines. Based on this point, there was a possibility
that the rescue aid could qualify as restructuring aid.

(16) At this stage it is not possible to know what the outcome
of the concordato preventivo will be. However, Italy should
in any case immediately register its claims in the bank­
ruptcy proceedings, whatever kind is pursued.

(11) However,

it should be noted that

Italy subsequently
withdrew the notification concerning the restructuring
aid. The Commission cannot therefore base its decision
on elements, particularly a restructuring plan, that would
restore viability, or on compensatory measures
to
the aid, allowing the
mitigate the negative effects of
illegally extended rescue aid to be deemed restructuring
aid compatible with the common market.

(17)

(12) Hence the Commission must conclude that the guarantee
of EUR 2,75 million granted to New Interline by the
Italian authorities is incompatible with the common
market under
it was
extended beyond 6 September 2006.

the Guidelines

in so far as

(1) OJ C 244, 1.10.2004, p. 2.
(2) Point 27 of the Guidelines states that ‘the Commission will initiate
proceedings under Article 88(2) of the Treaty if the Member State
fails to communicate (…) proof that the loan has been reimbursed
in full and/or that the guarantee has been terminated before the six-
month deadline has expired.’

the

aid (the Recovery Notice) (3),

Should the outcome of this procedure result in the conti­
nuation of New Interline’s activity,
the Commission
would point out that, as indicated in paragraph 67 of
the Notice from the Commission — Towards an effective
implementation of Commission decisions ordering
Member States to recover unlawful and incompatible
authorities
State
responsible for enforcing the decision can only support
the continuation plan if it ensures that the aid is repaid
foreseen in the
in full within the
Commission’s
the
Member State cannot waive part of its recovery claim,
nor can it accept any other solution that, in the absence
of full and immediate repayment of the unlawful aid,
would not
the
activity of the beneficiary. Therefore,
in the absence of
full repayment of the unlawful aid, the Italian authorities
should, within the time limit laid down for the execution
of the present decision, take all measures available to
them to oppose the continuation of activity of New
Interline.

time
recovery decision.

in the immediate ending of

In particular,

limits

result

(3) OJ C 272, 15.11.2007, p. 4.

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Official Journal of the European Union

2.9.2008

(18)

It should also be noted that under paragraph 68 of the
Recovery Notice, in the event of liquidation, and as long
as the aid has not been fully recovered, the Member State
should oppose any transfer of assets that is not carried
out on market terms and/or that is organised so as to
circumvent the recovery decision. To achieve a ‘correct
transfer of assets’, the Member State has to ensure that
the undue advantage created by the aid is not transferred
to the acquirer of the assets. This may be the case if the
assets of the original aid beneficiary are transferred to a
third party at a price that is lower than their market
value or to a successor company set up in order to
circumvent
the
recovery order has to be extended to that third party.

recovery order.

In that

case

the

3. RESTRUCTURING AID

(19)

The Commission notes that under Article 8 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying
down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of
the EC Treaty (1),
the Member State concerned may
withdraw its notification in due
the
Commission has taken a decision on the aid. In cases
where the Commission has already initiated the formal
investigation procedure, it must close that procedure.

time before

Article 2

Italy shall recover the aid referred to in Article 1 from the

1.
beneficiary.

2.
The sums to be recovered shall bear interest from six
months after the date on which they were put at the disposal
of the beneficiary until their actual recovery.

3.
The interest shall be calculated on a compound basis in
accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 794/2004.

Article 3

1.
Recovery of
immediate and effective.

the aid referred to in Article 1 shall be

Italy shall ensure that this Decision is implemented within

2.
four months of the date of notification of this Decision.

Article 4

1. Within two months of the notification of this Decision
Italy shall submit the following information to the Commission:

(20)

Italy withdrew the notification of restructuring aid of
EUR 4,75 million by letter of 9 October 2007.
According to the information available, the restructuring
aid has not been granted.

(a)

the total amount (principal and interest) to be recovered
from the beneficiary;

(21)

Therefore the formal investigation procedure opened by
the above-mentioned Decision of 24 April 2007 must be
closed since, as the notification has been withdrawn, it
no longer serves any purpose in respect of the restruc­
turing aid notified by Italy for New Interline,

(b) a detailed description of the measures already taken and

planned to comply with this Decision;

(c) documents demonstrating that

the beneficiary has been

ordered to repay the aid.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The rescue aid in the form of a State guarantee amounting to
EUR 2,75 million, unlawfully granted by Italy to New Interline
S.p.A. in breach of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, is incompatible
with the common market in so far as it was extended beyond
6 September 2006.

(1) OJ C 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

2.
Italy shall keep the Commission informed of the progress
of the national measures taken to implement this Decision until
recovery of the aid referred to in Article 1 has been completed.
It
request by the
shall
information on the measures already taken and
Commission,
planned to comply with this Decision.
It shall also provide
detailed information concerning the amount of aid and
interest already recovered from the beneficiary.

immediately submit, on simple

Article 5

The procedure under Article 88(2) of the Treaty initiated by the
Commission Decision of 24 April 2007 in respect of
the
restructuring aid (ex N 734/06)
is closed as the notification
was withdrawn on 9 October 2007.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 235/15

This Decision is addressed to Italy.

Article 6

Done at Brussels, 16 April 2008.

For the Commission

Neelie KROES
Member of the Commission