2001/517/EC: Commission Decision of 13 February 2001 on the State aid implemented by the Netherlands for SCI-Systems (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2001) 402)

Article 1

Tie transport service for SCI's employees to and from the temporary facility in Leek does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.

Article 2

The aid under the "2000 Jobs" programme, which the Netherlands has implemented in favour of SCI and which is limited by the undertaking of the Dutch authorities, is compatible with the common market in so far as the combined amount of aid under the IPR scheme and the jobs programme does not exceed the regional aid ceiling of 20 % gross grant equivalent. The Netherlands shall ensure that, with the final declaration of eligible costs, the ceiling of 20 % will not be exceeded.

Article 3

The aid element in the land price, the aid in respect of the rent charged for the temporary facility and the investment by NOM in the temporary facility, and the aid in connection with the security measures for the temporary facility are incompatible with the common market.

Article 4

1. The Netherlands shall take all necessary measures to recover from the beneficiary the aid referred to in Article 3 and unlawfully made available to the beneficiary.

2. Recovery shall be effected without delay and in accordance with the procedures of national law provided that they allow the immediate and effective execution of the decision. The aid to be recovered shall include interest from the date on which it was at the disposal of the beneficiary until the date of its recovery. Interest shall be calculated on the basis of the reference rate used for calculating the grant equivalent of regional aid.

Article 5

The Netherlands shall strictly monitor the progress of the investment project and shall provide the Commission with reports concerning the definitive subsidy under the IPR scheme, the actual number of employees eligible for the subsidy and the associated wage costs, and the definitive subsidy granted under the "2000 Jobs" programme and concerning the maintenance of the jobs created for a period of five years as from the completion of the investment project. With respect to the aid for the accommodation of staff, the Dutch authorities shall comply with the conditions of the de minimis rule, notably those on cumulation with other de minimis aid.

Article 6

The Netherlands shall inform the Commission, within two months of notification of this Decision, of the measures taken to comply with it.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Done at Brussels, 13 February 2001.
For the Commission
Mario Monti
Member of the Commission
(1) OJ C 144, 22.5.1999, p. 4.
(2) The scheme is now called "Besluit Subsidieregeling Regionale Investeringsprojecten".
(3) Decision 91/474/EEC of 16 August 1991 (OJ L 254, 11.9.1991, p. 14).
(4) OJ C 144, 22.5.1999, p. 4.
(5) www.sci.com
(6) www.hp.nl.
(7) The investment costs were originally estimated in US dollars. At the time that the subsidy application under the IPR scheme was being processed in September 1998, the exchange rate was USD 1 for NLG 1,96.
(8) Letter of 19 October 1995 (SG(95) D/12907). Modifications were approved by letter (SG(97) D/8903) of 29 October 1997.
(9) The Dutch authorities also explained why a maximum aid intensity of 40 % was mentioned in the publicly available information on the IPR, whereas the regional aid ceiling was 20 %. The 40 % maximum could apply to part of the cost in cases of cumulation with other subsidies, e.g. certain general tax investment premiums that were available in the 1980s. Such a subsidy normally related to only part of an investment project. For the overall investment project the 20 % ceiling applies. The provision regarding the 40 % maximum aid intensity was scrapped in 1999 as it was no longer relevant.
(10) The number refers to the number of jobs to be created, and not to the year 2000.
(11) This number includes 391 long-term unemployed, 105 young job-seekers and 246 job-seekers belonging to minority groups; 701 of them are men and 253 are women.
(12) This includes a further aid element in the advance payments: SCI received advance payments up to 80 % of the maximum aid it would be entitled to receive. Any amount that is unduly paid will be reimbursed, but the scheme does not specify an interest payment on these amounts.
(13) This is 244190 m2, according to the second land evaluation report.
(14) OJ C 144, 22.05.1999.
(15) Het Financieele Dagblad, 29.5.1999.
(16) Leeuwarder Courant, 1.6.1999 and 3.6.1999.
(17) Kamerstukken II, 1996-97, 25122, No 3. Article 5 WIW allows municipalities to grant subsidies to employers to provide work-experience jobs "werkervaringsplaatsen" for the long-term or young unemployed. Conditions for such a subsidy are similar. Thus, the employment contract for such a job must have a minimum duration of six months. The maximum subsidy applies to contracts of 12 months. If the duration is shorter, the subsidy is fixed at a correspondingly lower level.
(18) The RBA undertook that, of all the persons it referred to SCI for recruitment or work procurement, at least 150, or 12,5 % of the total, would comply with the criteria laid down in the WVA. One of these criteria is that the long-term unemployed should be offered a contract for at least 12 weeks and for at least 15 hours a week. The WVA applies only to employment of persons under a certain wage threshold. The objective therefore was to realise a total benefit of EUR 1,2 million (NLG 2,7 million) out of WVA exemptions. At its request, SCI received 28 declarations allowing deduction of wages tax. The Dutch authorities do not know whether SCI, actually made use of these declarations. Cumulation with subsidies under the WIW or the "2000 Jobs" programme is allowed. The Commission has confirmed that the scheme can be considered as a general measure and not as aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, e.g. in its decision to initiate the procedure of Article 88(2) in the case of aid to Reebok (OJ C 233, 14.8.1999, p. 42).
(19) Commission notice on the de minimis rule for State aid (OJ C 68, 6.3.1996, p. 9).
(20) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.
(21) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 9.
(22) OJ C 334, 12.12.1995, p. 4. Paragraph 10 of these guidelines explains that aid to employment as covered by these guidelines is aid not linked to investment.
(23) Including the aid element in the advance payments; see footnote 12.
(24) OJ C 209, 10.7.1997, p. 3.
(25) In this case, such an indicative cost price can be calculated on the basis of the cost of buying 60 hectares of land. IBF bought 80 hectares, for which the adjusted budget for 1998 indicated a cost of NLG 13090000. An area of 20 hectares was necessary for infrastructure. The cost for the remaining 60 hectares amounts to 60/80 NLG 13090000 = NLG 9,8 million, which corresponds to a price of NLG 16,36 per square metre. The infrastructure cost, i.e. EUR 9,1 million (NLG 20,1 million) according to IBF's 1999 updated operating budget, need not to be taken into account.
(26) Gemeente Heerenveen 00-22-03/03-05-00, "Verkennende notitie mbt de mogelijkheden en consequenties van een herziening van het bestemmingsplan voor het IBF".
(27) This latter figure may be somewhat too high as no distinction is made between land to be used for building and land to be used for service roads. The 70 % limit for combined building and service roads comprises a relatively low 40 % for buildings and a high 30 % for service roads. In the case of SCI, however, the Commission considers this distinction to be of only minor importance: as SCI needs a substantial parking area, the combined maximum of 70 % can be taken as the binding requirement for its plans.
(28) Case 70/72 Commission v Germany [1973] ECR 813.
(29) Case 310/85 Deufil v Commission [1987] ECR 901.
(30) Case C-5/89 Commission v Germany [1990] ECR I-3437.

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