CELEX: 31972L0273
Language: en
Date: 1972-07-20 00:00:00
Title: Council Directive 72/273/EEC of 20 July 1972 on aid to shipbuilding

Official Journal of the European Communities                                    749
 No L 169/28                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                27.7.72
                                                COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                                                    of 20 July 1972
                                                 on aid to shipbuilding
                                                     (72/273 /EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                        Whereas aids designed to improve export credit
                                                                conditions for ships are still granted in some
                                                               shipbuilding countries, the aim of existing OECD
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                   understandings being solely to lay down for
European Economic Community, and in particular                  international transactions    maximum    credit  levels
 Articles 92 and 113 thereof;                                   above which aid may not be granted; whereas there
                                                               are forms of aid other than those relating to export
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;             credit for ships which cause distortions in
                                                               competition on the world market;
Whereas the Council Directive of 28 July 19691 on
the grant of aids to shipbuilding to offset distortions        Whereas in these circumstances it is in the common
in competition on the world market has effectively             interest that aid to shipbuilding within             the
 helped to reduce and harmonize aids granted to                Community be maintained at a reduced level;
shipbuilding in the Community;
                                                               Whereas such aid will, furthermore, facilitate certain
Whereas that Directive should be reviewed in the               restructuring operations which have yet to be carried
light of the changes which have occurred in the                out within the Community shipbuilding industry;
world shipbuilding market since its adoption ;                 whereas these operations have been hindered by the
                                                               deterioration of the financial position of numerous
                                                               shipyards as a result of distortions in competition on
Whereas distortions in competition on the world                the world market;
shipbuilding market have recently been reduced,
principally through a series of understandings                 Whereas aids granted to shipbuilding should
concluded by the main shipbuilding countries within            nevertheless not affect trading conditions in a way
the framework of the OECD with the object of                   contrary to the common interest;
harmonizing export credit conditions for ships ;
                                                               Whereas it is in the interest of the Community to find
Whereas the Governments of many shipbuilding                   a solution both to the problem of any excess
countries are increasingly convinced that the                  production capacity that may arise in the
shipbuilding    industry    must    ultimately   operate       shipbuilding industry and to the problem of aid and
without aid;                                                   intervention significantly affecting, whether directly
                                                               or indirectly, conditions of competition and trade on
Whereas, furthermore,          shipbuilding in the             the shipbuilding and ship conversion market;
Community has shown a relative improvement
following an increase in demand and the first results          Whereas the Commission should without delay
of the restructuring of shipyards ;                            undertake, with the assistance of the Member States,
                                                               a study of the various factors responsible for the
                                                               imbalance of supply and demand on that market—
Whereas the Directive of 28 July 1969 should                   account being taken also of studies made by
therefore be revised so as to provide for a reduction          international organizations—and of all existing aids
in the aids granted to shipbuilding;                           and interventions, in order to determine the effect of
                                                               such aids and interventions on the conditions of
                                                               competition and trade; whereas the Commission will,
1 OJ No L 206, 15.8.1969, p. 25.                               on the basis of the results of this study, submit
 ---pagebreak--- 750                                  Official Journal of the European Communities
proposals to the Council for action to prevent supply           (b) other credit facilities for sales and conversions of
from developing in such a way as might jeopardize                    ships provided that the conditions referred to in
the required balance—without thereby prejudicing                      (a) are satisfied;
any decisions which the Council may choose to take
in the field of industrial policy—and will also                 (c) any form of aid or intervention coming within
submit a draft for a new directive designee! to                      Article 1, other than those specified under (a)
coordinate in the common interest all aids and                       and (b), the amount of which, subject to
intervention in respect of shipbuilding and ship                     exemption, does not exceed 5% of the relevant
conversion; whereas the Council should act on the                    contract price in 1972 and 4% of the contract
proposals from the Commission as soon as possible                    price in 1973 .
and in any event not later than 31 December 1973 ;
                                                                2. Grants exceeding the aforementioned ceilings
                                                                shall in the following cases be treated as exemptions
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                                                for the purposes of paragraph 1(c)
                                                                — where the excess is due to the operation of a
                          Article 1
                                                                    scheme of insurance against exceptional rises in
                                                                    costs ;
Aids and interventions to assist shipbuilding may be
considered compatible with the common market in                 — where the grant is to the Italian shipbuilding
so far as they satisfy the conditions set out in Articles           industry, provided that such grants , are
2 and 3 .                                                           progressively reduced at a rate at least equal to
                                                                    that indicated under (c), and there is at the same
                          Article 2                                 time put into operation a programme for the
                                                                     rationalization of Italian shipbuilding industry
                                                                    designed       to    make     the   industry  properly
Grants of aid and interventions may be made for the                 competitive at the European level not later than
following purposes :                                                the end of 1976 ;
(a) the building, in a shipyard of the Community, of            — where the excess is the result of indirect aid or
      metal-hulled sea-going vessels being any of the               intervention for the building or conversion of
      following:                                                     ships.
      — merchant vessels for the carriage of cargo
          and/or passengers of not less than 150 gross          3 . The contract price means the sale price fixed by
          registered tons;                                      contract, taking account of any price revision clause.
      — fishing vessels of not less than 150 gross
          registered tons ;                                     4. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
                                                                proposal from the Commission, shall modify this
      — dredgers of not less than 150 gross registered          Article as and when appropriate.
          tons ;
      — tugs of not less than 500 hp;
                                                                                            Article 4
 (b) the conversion, in a shipyard of the Community,
      of metal-hulled sea-going vessels of not less than        The      Member      States  shall    communicate  to     the
      5000 gross registered tons, on condition that             Commission, in so far as is necessary, particulars of
      conversion operations entail radical alterations to       their rules governing aid and intervention for
      the cargo plan, the hull or the main propulsion           shipbuilding and ship conversion and of their
      system of such vessels.                                   procedures for applying such rules.
                                                                These rules and procedures must make it clear
                           Article 3                            whether the conditions laid down in Articles 2 and 3
                                                                have been complied with.
 1. ,   Aid   or intervention for the         building  or
 conversion of ships falling within Article 2 may                                           Article 5
 consist of :
 (a) export credit facilities in respect of ships,              The Member States shall refrain from any
      provided that such facilities satisfy the conditions       discriminatory practice calculated to favour within
      laid doyvn in the understanding on Export Credit           their national territories the building or conversion of
       for Ships contained in the Resolution of the              ships or the manufacture of products intended to
       Council of the OECD of 16 December 1970;                  form part of such ships.                             1 .
 ---pagebreak---                                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                    751
                          Article 6                                                      Article 7
On the entry into force of the Treaty concerning the             1.     This Directive shall apply until 31 December
Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the                1973 .
Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European               2. The Commission shall as soon as possible
Economic Community and the European Atomic                       undertake a study of trends in supply and demand on
Energy Community:                                               the world shipbuilding market and of the overall
                                                                 effect of aids and interventions significantly affecting,
(a) the following temporary exceptions                  to       whether directly or indirectly, the conditions of
    subparagraph (a) of Article 2 shall apply :                 competition and trade on that market within the
                                                                 Community. It shall submit to the Council proposals
    — the minimum tonnage level for aid and                     based on the results of this study. The Council shall
          intervention in the United Kingdom of Great           act on these proposals, immediately if possible, but in
          Britain and Northern Ireland in respect of the        any event not later than the end of 1973 .
          aforementioned shipbuilding operations shall
          be 100 gross registered tons;                                                  Article 8
    — the minimum tonnage level for aid and
          intervention in the Kingdom of Norway in              This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
          respect of the construction of fishing vessels
          shall be 50 gross registered tons ;                   Done at Brussels, 20 July 1972.
(b) the following indent shall be added to Article 3
                                                                                                    For the Council
     (2):
                                                                                                     The President
    'where the grant is to the Irish shipbuilding
     industry.'                                                                                    T. WESTERTERP