Commission Decision (EU) 2015/456 of 5 September 2014 on the aid scheme No SA.26212 (11/C) (ex 11/NN — ex CP 176/A/08) and SA.26217 (11/C) (ex 11/NN — ex CP 176/B/08) implemented by the Republic of Bulgaria in the context of swaps of forest land (notified under document C(2014) 6207) Text with EEA relevance
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
The State aid, granted to undertakings in the context of swap transactions of publicly owned forest land in return for privately owned forest land in the period from 1 January 2007 until 27 January 2009, unlawfully put into effect by the Republic of Bulgaria in breach of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, is incompatible with the internal market.
Individual aid granted under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 does not constitute aid if, at the time it is granted, it fulfils the conditions laid down by a regulation adopted pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98 which is applicable at the time when the aid is granted.
Individual aid granted under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 which, at the time it is granted, fulfils the conditions laid down by a regulation adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98 or by any other approved aid scheme is compatible with the internal market, up to maximum aid intensities applicable to that type of aid.
1. The Republic of Bulgaria shall recover the incompatible aid granted under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 from the beneficiaries. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the incompatible aid may be recovered from the beneficiaries by undoing the swap transactions, in cases where no material alterations have been made to both the publicly owned and privately owned forest land concerned by the transaction since the date of that transaction. 3. The sums to be recovered shall bear interest from the date on which they were put at the disposal of the beneficiaries until their actual recovery. 4. The interest shall be calculated on a compound basis in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 and with Regulation (EC) No 271/2008. 5. The Republic of Bulgaria shall cancel all outstanding payments of aid under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 with effect from the date of adoption of this decision.
1. Recovery of the aid granted under the scheme referred to in Article 1 shall be immediate and effective. 2. The Republic of Bulgaria shall ensure that this Decision is fully implemented within 12 months following the date of notification of this Decision.
1. Within four months following notification of this Decision, the Republic of Bulgaria shall submit to the Commission the following information: (a) a list of all swap transactions, indicating the following information: — the administrative and market prices for the privately owned and publicly owned forest plots swapped, information on the additional cash amounts involved in each transaction, and the resulting State aid amount, — the name of the private party, i.e. the beneficiary of the swap transaction, involved in each transaction and an indication of the reasons why that party is or is not considered to be an undertaking. (b) identification of the cases in which recovery will be conducted on the basis of the market prices at the moment of the swap transactions specified in submission 2014/032997 of the Republic of Bulgaria; (c) identification of the cases in which recovery will be effectuated by undoing the swap transaction; (d) identification of the cases in which recovery will be implemented on the basis of amounts determined by an independent expert evaluator and documents demonstrating that such an independent expert, selected by public tender and agreed to by the Commission, has been appointed. 2. Within eight months following notification of this Decision, the Republic of Bulgaria shall submit to the Commission the following information: (a) the list of beneficiaries that have received aid under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 and the total amount of aid received by each of them as a result of those transactions; (b) the total amount (principal and recovery interests) to be recovered from each beneficiary; (c) a detailed description of the measures already taken and planned to comply with this Decision; (d) documents demonstrating that the beneficiaries have been ordered to repay the aid. 3. Within 12 months following notification of this Decision, the Republic of Bulgaria shall submit documents demonstrating that the aid has fully been recovered from the beneficiaries concerned. 4. The Republic of Bulgaria shall keep the Commission informed of the progress of the national measures taken to implement this Decision until the recovery of the aid granted under the swap transactions referred to in Article 1 has been completed by submitting reports on a two-monthly basis. It shall immediately submit, on simple request by the Commission, information on the measures already taken and planned to comply with this Decision. It shall also provide detailed information concerning the amounts of aid and recovery interest already recovered from the beneficiaries.
This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Bulgaria.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.