CELEX: 51992SC0991
Language: en
Date: 1992-05-25
Title: Proposal for a Council Directive providing for changes to the Seventh Council Directive on aid to shipbuilding of 21 December 1990

NoC 155 / 20                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                   20 . 6 . 92
              Proposal for a Council Directive providing for changes to the Seventh Council Directive on aid
                                            to shipbuilding of 21 December 1990
                                                        (92/C 155/ 10)
                                                      SEC(92) 991 final
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 25 May 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                                    Article 2
                                                                  Article    10    of  Council   Directive   90/684/EEC         is
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             supplemented by Article 10a as follows :
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 92 (3)
(d) and 113 thereof,                                              Article 10a
                                                                      1.     With the exception of Article 4 (6) and (7),
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                    Chapter II of this Directive shall not be applicable to
                                                                      the shipbuilding and ship-conversion activities of
Having regard to the opinion of the European                          yards situated and operating in the territories of the
Parliament,                                                           former German Democratic Republic on 3 October
                                                                      1990 .
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                     2. Until 31 December 1993 operating aid for ship­
                                                                      building and ship-conversion activities of these yards
                                                                      may be considered compatible with the common
Whereas the shipbuilding industry is important for the                market provided that :
structural development of the coastal part of the terri­
tories of the former German Democratic Republic ;                     — aid to facilitate the continued operation of the
                                                                          yards during that period does not for any of these
Whereas the shipbuilding industry existing in these terri­                yards exceed a maximum ceiling of 36 % of
tories at the time of their incorporation into the                        turnover calculated on the basis of three times the
Community requires urgent and comprehensive restruc­                      yard's shipbuilding and ship-conversion annual
turing in order to become competitive, which the                          turnover norm after restructuring. This aid must
immediate application of the common maximum ceiling                       be paid by 31 December 1993 ,
for production aid does not allow; whereas a particular              — no further production aid, including contract­
transitory arrangement should therefore be established to                 related aid, is granted on contracts signed
enable the shipbuilding industry in these territores to                   between 1 July 1990 and 31 December 1993 ,
operate during the gradual restructuring which shall
allow it to comply with the aid rules applicable to the              — the German Government agrees to carry out,
Community as a whole ;                                                    according to a timetable accepted by the
                                                                          Commission and in any case not later than 31
Whereas on the other hand competition considerations                      December 1995, a genuine and irreversible
make it necessary that the shipbuilding industry in these                 closure of shipbuilding capacity in these territories
territories contributes significantly to the reduction of                 of 40 % net compared to the shipbuilding
the excess capacities which worldwide are still impeding                  capacity of 545 000 cgt existing on 3 October
the rapid restoration of normal market conditions for the                 1990 ,
shipbuilding industry,                                               — the German Government provides evidence to the
                                                                          Commission, in the form of annual reports by an
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :                                              independent chartered accountant, that the aid
                                                                          payments are strictly limited to support the ac­
                                                                          tivities of yards situated in the former German
                         Article 1                                        Democratic Republic. The first such report must
                                                                          be submitted to the Commission at the latest by
The Chapter IV heading of Council Directive                               the end of February 1993.
90/684/EEC shall be amended as follows :
                                                                     3 . For new shipyards opened in these territories
    'SPAIN, GREECE AND THE TERRITORY OF THE                          after 3 October 1990 all the provisions of this
    FORMER GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC'.                              Directive remain fully applicable.