97/271/ECSC: Commission Decision of 18 December 1996 ECSC steel - Forges de Clabecq (Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance)
Data as of 2026-07-04 Β· Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. Β· Read the official text β
The measures taken by Belgium to assist Forges de Clabecq, namely: - a capital injection of BEF 1 500 million, - the provision of State guarantees in respect of loans granted by Belfin and SNCI, - the waiver of claims amounting to BEF 802,3 million (BEF 302,2 million by SA Forges Finances and BEF 500 million by SWS), - the grant of bridging loans totalling BEF 700 million, constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 1 (2) of Decision No 3855/91/ECSC.
The aid measures referred to in Article 1 are incompatible with the common market since they do not satisfy the conditions laid down in Articles 2 to 5 of Decision No 3855/91/ECSC, as provided for in Article 1 (2) of that Decision, and are therefore prohibited by Article 4 (c) of the Treaty.
Belgium is hereby required to abolish the aid measures referred to in Article 1 and demand that the illegal aid already paid be reimbursed, with interest from the date on which it was paid, within two months of the date of notification of this Decision. Such reimbursement shall be effected in accordance with the procedures and provisions of national law, using as a basis for calculation of the commercial interest rate the reference rate used for calculating the grant equivalent of regional aid.
Belgium shall inform the Commission of the measures taken to comply with this Decision within two months of the date of its notification.
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium. Done at Brussels, 18 December 1996. For the Commission Karel VAN MIERT Member of the Commission (1) OJ No L 362, 31. 12. 1991, p. 57. (2) OJ No C 301, 11. 10. 1996, p. 4.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), Β© European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.