CELEX: 51973PC1310
Language: en
Date: 1973-09-11
Title: COMMISSION DECISION of 11 September 1973 on aid which the Belgian Government intends to grant for extending an oil refinery at Antwerp (province of Antwerp) and for setting up a new refinery at Kallo (province of East Flanders)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (73) 1310
Vol. 1973/0246
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                           COM(73 ) 1310 final
                                                           Brussels , 11 September 1973
                                 COMMISSION DECISION
                                 of 11 September 1973
             on aid which the Belgian Government intends to grant for
                 extending an oil refinery at Antwerp (province of
                   Antwerp) and for setting up a new refinery at
                        Kallo ( province of East Flanders)
  COM(73 ) 1310 final
 ---pagebreak---                                  C027TS3I0I* yvjIHT : •
                                  of 11 September 1973
                                                     1973
            on aid which the Belgian Government intends to grant
            for extending an oil refinery at Antwerp ( province of
            Antwerp ) and for setting up a new refinery at Kallo
                          ( province of East Flanders )
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Commu­
nity , and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 93(2 ) there­
of 5
Having , pursuant to Article 93 » given notice to the parties concerned
to submit their comments and having considered those comments ;
I , Whereas , by letter of 23 August 1972 from its Permanent Representa­
     tive , the Belgian Government , pursuant to Article 93(3 ) EEC , in­
     formed the Commission of its intention to grant certain aid for in­
     vestments made by two oil companies , the one for extending an oil
     refinery at Antwerp and the other for setting up a new oil refinery
     at Kallo ;
     Whereas the refining capacity in Belgium will be considerably in­
     creased as a result of those investments ;
     Whereas the information supplied by the Belgian Government indicates
     that the aid in question will be granted pursuant to the Law of 17
     July 1959 instituting and coordinating measures to encourage econo­
     mic expansion and the setting up of new industries ;
 ---pagebreak---                                         -2 -
     Whereas the aid will consist :
     - in the case of the Antwerp refinery , of interest rate subsidies
       of 2 % for three years on a loan of Bfrs . 4.570 million and of
       3 % for three years on a loan of Bfrs . 1.^30 million and also
       exemption for three years from the tax on land and buildings ;
     - in the case of the Kallo refinery , of an interest rate subsidy
       of 2 % for three years on a loan of Bfrs . 4,300 million and Eilso
       exemption for three years from the tax on land and buildings ;
     Whereas the aids are such as to affect trade between Member States
     and to threaten to distort competition within the meaning of Ar­
     ticle 92(1 ).
II . Whereas the economic and social situation of the regions and areas
     in which the new investments receiving aid are located are not
     such as would warrant applying the exceptions made under Article
     92(3 ) ( a ) and ( c ) for aid to promote the development of certain
     areas to the aids which the Belgian Government intends to grant ;
     Whereas growth in the province , and in particular in the district
     of Antwerp , is very rapid ; whereas , in view of the investments
     which have been made and which are likely to be made in this area ,
     the current shortage of labour may be expected to become more
     acute ; whereas the gross domestic product per inhabitant in this
     area is among the highest in the Community ;
     Whereas expansion in the province of East Flanders and the district
     of St Niklaas where Kallo is located is likewise particularly ra­
     pid ; whereas this province , which , through its proximity , benefits
     from Antwerp 's own expansion , is particularly attractive for new
     investments ; whereas its situation , from the point of view of em­
     ployment or standard of living of the population , does not give
     rise to any concern ;
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 3 -
      Whereas , moreover the districts of Antwerp and of St Niklaas are
      not within the regions or areas in respect of which the Commission ,
      in its Decision 72/173/EEC of 26 April 1972 on aid granted under
      the Belgian Law of 30 December 1970 on economic expansion , autho­
      rized the Belgian Government to grant regional aid .
III . Whereas , firstly , the refining industry and its undertakings face
      no particular difficulty in Belgium whether from the point of view
      of their structures or of their own ability to expand ; whereas , on
      the contrary , production capacities in Belgium already far exceed
      the needs of the domestic market and the forecasts which are at
      present possible of trends in these two variables during the years
      ahead indicate that there will be an continued surplus which will
      even increase considerably ;
      Whereas the Commission - in exercising the powers vested in it by
      Article 92(3 ) EEC - should not therefore except from Article 92
      ( 1 ) EEC which provides for the incompatibility of aids defined in
      that paragraph , measures which would contribute to further the
      development of this industry , by granting those measures the bene­
      fit. of the exemption provided under Article 92(3 ) ( c ) EEC for " aid
      to facilitate the development of certain economic activities ",
      there being no justification for such measures ;
 ---pagebreak---                                         - k -
     Whereas , furthermore , it is . characteristic of the petroleum industry that
     when refining capacity is available there is advantage in making the
     maximum use of it since the proportional element in refining costs is
     relatively small ; iwhereas , however , if there are any surpluses , however
     small , on the marlcet for petroleum products those surpluses have a
     considerable depressing influence on prices and are therefore likely to
     upset the financial equilibrium of the refining industry of the Community .
     Whereas the aids planned by the Belgian Government are therefore
     such as to " adversely affect trading conditions to an extent con­
     trary to the common interest " and cannot for that very reason be
     exempted under Article 92(3 ) ( c ) EEC , since this provision allows
     aids to be considered compatible with the Common Market only if
     they facilitate the development of certain economic activities
     without producing any adverse effect ;
     Whereas , moreover , the aids clearly do not qualify for exemption
     under Article 92(2 ) or Article 92(3 ) ( b ) EEC ;
IV.. Whereas , when submitting its comments , the Belgian Government
     declared itself prepared to limit the aids originally proposed
     only to investments directed towards the elemination , by the two
     refineries concerned , of the pollution they cause ;
                                                                            /.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 5 -
Whereas , however , it is the responsibility of Member States to take
the necessary measures to ensure that the undertakings themselves ,
under the principle of 'the polluter pays' meet the costs of protec­
ting the environment from the harmful effects of their activities ;
whereas aids can be exempted from this rule only if it can be proved
that full application of the rule might give rise to particular diffi­
culties , especially of a regional or industrial nature , and that those
difficulties can only be overcome by enabling the industries concerned
to make the necessary alterations to their existing production plants .
Whereas , in this case under consideration , an examination of the si­
tuation of the undertakings which would benefit from the aids proposed
by the Belgian Government , of the regions and areas where the new in­
vestments are to be made and of the sector of industrial activity to
which the undertakings belong , does not indicate that any such diffi­
culties exist ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
                               Article 1
The Kingdom of Belgium shall not grant the aids which , as notified to
the Commission by letter of 23 August 1972 from its Permanent Repre­
sentative , it intended to grant towards the extension of an oil re­
finery at Antwerp and towards the setting up of a new refinery at
Kallo .
                               Article 2
This decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium .
                                    Done at Brussels , 11 September 1973
                                         For the Commission
                                         Th ■; ; Prosit nt
                                         Francois-      vi r v ITOLI