2003/284/EC: Commission Decision of 11 December 2002 on the State aid implemented by Spain for Sniace SA (notified under document number C(2002) 4824) (Text with EEA relevance)

• Articles: 2

Article 1

The State aid which Spain has implemented for Sniace SA, amounting to a maximum of EUR 7388258, is compatible with the common market pursuant to Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain.

Done at Brussels, 11 December 2002.

For the Commission

Mario Monti

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 162, 1.6.2000, p. 15.

(3) See footnote 2.

(4) Case C 342/96, 9.4.1999, Rec. 1999, p. I-02459.

(5) OJ L 11, 16.1.2001, p. 46.

(6) This is the case for Caja Cantabria. For example, the composition of the general meeting was, on 31 December 2001: municipalities: 40 %; provincial councils: 27 %; depositors: 23 %; social and cultural institutions: 5 %; employees: 5 %. At the same date, 10 out of 15 members of the board of directors (including the chair, the two vice-chairs and the secretary) were appointed by public authorities.

(7) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 9.

(8) OJ C 94, 30.3.1996, p. 11.

(9) OJ C 368, 23.12.1994, p. 12. These guidelines were revised in 1999 (OJ C 288, 9.10.1999, p. 2). The 1999 version of the guidelines does not apply because the alleged aid measures were granted prior to their publication (see Section 7 of the 1999 version).

(10) OJ C 307, 13.11.1993, p. 3.

(11) Commission notice on the method for setting the reference and discount rates (OJ C 273, 9.9.1997, p. 3).

(12) OJ L 195, 29.7.1980, p. 35.

(13) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 75.

(14) Law 27/1984 of 26 July 1984 on industrial conversion and reindustrialisation.

(15) Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-482/99 [2002] ECR I-4397.

(16) Diario de Sesiones de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria, No 34, 4 June 1996, p. 1230.

(17) This is confirmed, inter alia, by the statement made by Mr Alvarez Redondo, representative of the Cantabrian Government, to the Regional Assembly of Cantabria on 17 July 1996: "We should not forget that the viability plan was an initiative of the Regional Government", Diario de Sesiones de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria, No 98, 17 July 1996, p. 1885 ("No podemos olvidar que la realización del Plano de Viabilidad ha sido una iniciativa del Consejo de Gobierno").

(18) Diario de Sesiones de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria, No 150, 22 January 1997, p. 2812.

(19) Diario de Sesiones de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria, No 150, 22 January 1997, p. 2817.

(20) El Diario Montañes, 17 August 1997, pp. 1 and 16; 20 August 1997, p. 17; 23 August 1997, p. 18; 3 September 1997, p. 16; 28 October 1997, p. 16.

(21) Issue of 25 November 1997, p. 16.

(22) Alerta, 30 January 1998, p. 29.

(23) Alerta, 29 January 1998, p. 33.

(24) Source: Eurostat Newcronos Database, regional statistics.

(25) Diario de Sesiones de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria, No 119.1, 15 June 1998, p. 3849.

(26) In 1998, interest charges would have been slightly lower, at EUR 1325849, because the loan was granted on 4 February and thus interest accrued for less than one calendar year.

(27) For 1998, interest charges were fixed by the parties at EUR 733564.

(28) And making two further assumptions: firstly that profit would remain constant for the years 2002 to 2005 at the same level forecast in the plan for the years 1999 to 2001, and secondly that the resulting interest paid would always be lower than the MIBOR + 2 ceiling.

(29) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998, p. 9. See in particular point 2, footnote 10 and point 4.17.