2003/162/EC: Commission Decision of 9 April 2002 on measures taken by Germany providing assistance towards industrial plant to firms in Thuringia through the Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2002) 1339)

• Articles: 2

Article 1

The measures examined in this Decision taken by Germany with regard to sales and rentals by Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH Thüringen relating to industrial plant do not contain any State aid element and do not constitute aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Done at Brussels, 9 April 2002.

For the Commission

Mario Monti

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ C 280, 2.10.1999, p. 8.

(2) See footnote 1.

(3) For further details see the Commission decision initiating the formal investigation, and in particular points 2.2 to 3.1 (footnote 1).

(4) OJ C 209, 10.7.1997, p. 3.

(5) Judgment of the Court of First Instance in Case T-37/97, Forges de Clabecq v Commission, [1999] ECR II-0859, paragraph 3.

(6) Letter from Germany, 9 April 1999.

(7) Letter from Germany, 28 July 1999.

(8) LEG Thüringen was set up in 1992 at a time when "the sale of industrial land ... had peaked": see recital 22.

(9) See footnote 8: development and reclamation costs can be higher in the case of old industrial sites; there is a greater fear of inherited burdens; the image of the location may be negative; ownership can be unclear; buildings or land may be listed for preservation; delays can occur in the process of preparation for building; infrastructure may be insufficient; the possible site configurations may be restricted; and there may be disadvantages in the positioning of the site and especially the transport links available.

(10) Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-40/85, Belgium v Commission, dated 10 July 1986 [1986] ECR 2321, paragraph 13.

(11) See Commission decision in the Fresenius case, OJ C 21, 25.1.1994, p. 4 and Commission Decision 98/384/EC, OJ L 171, 17.6.1998, p. 36.

(12) See Commission Decision 2000/389/EC (English Partnerships), OJ L 145, 20.6.2000, p. 27; and Commission Decision of 12 January 2001 in the Business Infrastructure Development case, State aid measure N 657/1999, which can be consulted on the Internet site of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/ secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/ index_en.htm

aides.

(13) Cases where the annual rent exceeded EUR 15338,78.

(14) The Commission has a table listing all such undertakings; see recital 10.

(15) Letter from Germany, 6 July 2000.