Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty

Cases where the Commission raises no objections

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 142/01)

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty

Cases where the Commission raises no objections

(2007/C 142/02)

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

The authentic text(s) of the decision, from which all confidential information has been removed, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/state_aids/

Initiation of proceedings

(Case COMP/M.4525 — Kronospan/Constantia)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 142/03)

On 14 June 2007, the Commission decided to initiate proceedings in the above-mentioned case after finding that the notified concentration raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market. The initiation of proceedings opens a second phase investigation with regard to the notified concentration, and is without prejudice to the final decision on the case. The decision is based on Article 6(1)(c) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their observations on the proposed concentration to the Commission.

In order to be fully taken into account in the procedure, observations should reach the Commission not later than 15 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax ((32-2) 296 43 01 or 296 72 44) or by post, under reference COMP/M.4525 — Kronospan/Constantia, to the following address:

Euro exchange rates (1)

26 June 2007

(2007/C 142/04)

1 euro=

(1)  

Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

F-Le Passage: operation of scheduled air services

Operation of scheduled air services between Agen (La Garenne) and Paris (Orly)

Notice of a competitive public tender issued by France pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 for the delegation of a public service

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 142/05)

1.   Introduction: Pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, France has imposed a public service obligation on scheduled air services between Agen (La Garenne) and Paris (Orly). The terms of this public service obligation were published in Official Journal of the European Communities C 331 of 19.11.1999 and amended in Official Journal of the European Union C 141 of 26.6.2007.

If on 3 November 2007 no air carrier has commenced or is about to commence operating these scheduled air services in accordance with the public service obligations imposed and without requesting financial compensation, France has decided, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4(1)(d) of the abovementioned Regulation, to limit access to the route to only one carrier and to offer the right to operate such services from 3 December 2007 at the earliest by invitation to tender.

2.   Contracting authority: Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental, Aérodrome d'Agen La Garenne, F-47520 Le Passage. Tél. (33) 553 77 00 83. Fax (33) 553 96 41 84. E-mail: aeroport.agen@wanadoo.fr.

3.   Object of the consultation: To provide, from 3 December 2007 at the earliest, scheduled air services in accordance with the public service obligation mentioned in paragraph 1.

4.   Main features of the contract: This is a public service delegation contract to be concluded between the carrier, the Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental and the State, in accordance with Article 8 of Decree No 2005-473 of 16 May 2005 relating inter alia to the rules governing the allocation of financial compensation by the State.

The delegatee will receive the revenue. The Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental and the State will pay it a contribution corresponding to the difference between the actual expenditure, excluding taxes (VAT, and aviation taxes) on operating the service and the commercial revenue, excluding taxes (VAT, and aviation taxes), received by it, within the limit of the maximum compensation to which it has committed itself, following deduction, where appropriate, of the penalties specified in Section 9.4 of this notice.

5.   Duration of the contract: The duration of the contract (public service delegation agreement) is three years from 3 December 2007 at the earliest.

6.   Participation in the consultation: Participation is open to all air carriers holding a valid operating licence issued in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers.

7.   Award procedure and criteria for selecting candidates: This invitation to tender is subject to Article 4(1)(d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, Articles L 1411-1 et seq. of the General Local Authorities Code concerning public service delegations and the texts implementing them (in particular Decree No 97-638 of 31 May 1997 implementing Law No 97-210 of 11 March 1997 on strengthening the fight against illegal employment), and Decree No 2005-473 of 16 May 2005 relating inter alia to the rules governing the allocation of financial compensation by the State and the three Orders of 16 May 2005 implementing it.

7.1.   Application file: The application file must be drawn up in French. Where necessary, tenderers must have documents issued by public authorities in an official language of the European Union translated into French. Along with the French version, tenderers may enclose a version drafted in another official language of the European Union; this version will not be authentic.

The application file must contain the following:

an application letter, signed by the manager or his or her representative, together with documents giving the power to sign;

a memorandum presenting the undertaking and vouching for the applicant's professional capability and financial standing in the field of air transport, together with any relevant references; this memorandum must make it possible to assess the applicant's ability to ensure the continuity of the public service and guarantee equality of treatment for users; if they so wish, the applicants may base their application on the model form DC5 used in connection with the award of public contracts;

the overall turnover and the turnover relating to the supply of relevant services over the last three years or, if the applicant so wishes, the balance sheets and outturn accounts for the last three years; an applicant who cannot provide this information must explain;

a methodology note explaining how the applicant proposes to respond to the consultation file if allowed by the Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental to submit a bid, setting out, in particular:

a statement issued on honour relating to the absence of conviction recorded in bulletin No 2 for offences referred to in Articles L. 324-9, L. 324-10, L. 341-6, L. 125-1 and L. 125-3 of the Labour Code;

a statement issued on honour and/or proof of compliance with the obligation to employ workers with disabilities laid down in Article L. 323-1 of the Labour Code;

extract ‘K bis’ of the entry in the Companies Register, or an equivalent document;

pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992, an insurance certificate less than three months old covering civil liability in the event of accidents, in particular in respect of passengers, luggage, cargo, mail and third parties and conforming to Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 of 21 April 2004, and in particular Article 4 thereof;

in the event of a safeguard or collective procedure measure, a copy of any judgment to this effect (if the judgment is not drawn up in French, it must be accompanied by a certified translation).

7.2.   Procedures for the examination of applications: Applications will be selected with reference to the following criteria set out in Article L. 1411-1(3) of the General Local Authorities Code:

the professional and financial guarantees offered by the applicants;

their ability to ensure the continuity of the public service and guarantee quality of treatment for users with regard to that service;

their compliance with the obligation to employ handicapped workers laid down in Article L. 323-1 of the Labour Code.

8.   Criteria for the award of the contract: Subsequently, the carriers whose applications are allowed and accepted will be invited to submit their tenders in accordance with the procedure laid down in the specific rules for the invitation to tender, which will then be supplied to them.

All the tender documentation is available on request from:

Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental, Aérodrome d'Agen La Garenne, F-47520 Le Passage. Tel. (33) 5 53 77 00 83, Fax (33) 5 53 96 41 84. E-mail: aeroport.agen@wanadoo.fr.

In accordance with Article L. 1411-1 subparagraph 3 of the General Local Authorities Code the bids thus submitted will be freely negotiated by the designated authority of the Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental.

In accordance with Article 4(1)(f) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the selection among the submissions will be made taking into consideration the adequacy of the service, including the prices and conditions which can be quoted to users, and the cost of the compensation required.

9.   Essential additional information:

9.1.   Financial compensation: The tenders submitted by the carriers whose applications are accepted must specify the maximum amount required by way of compensation for operating the route for three years from 3 December 2007, with an annual breakdown. The exact amount of compensation finally granted will be determined annually ex post on the basis of the costs and revenue actually generated by the service, within the limit of the amount stated in the tender. This maximum limit may be revised only in the event of unforeseen changes in the operating conditions.

The annual payments will be made in the form of advance payments and an adjustment balance. The balance will be paid only after approval of the carrier's accounts for the route in question and verification that the service has been operated in accordance with the conditions laid down in Section 9.2 below.

In the event of termination of the contract before its normal expiry date, Section 9.2 will be applied as soon as possible to allow payment to the carrier of the balance due, the maximum amount referred to in the first subparagraph being reduced, where appropriate, in proportion to the actual duration of the service.

9.2.   Verification of the operation of the service and of the carrier's accounts: The operation of the service and the carrier's cost accounting for the route in question will be examined at least once a year in cooperation with the carrier.

9.3.   Amendment and termination of the contract: Where the carrier believes that unforeseen changes in the operating conditions justify revision of the maximum amount of financial compensation, it must present a reasoned request to the other signatory parties, which must reach a decision within two months. The contract may then be amended by means of an additional agreement.

The contract may be terminated by either of the signatory parties before the normal end of the validity of the contract provided that a six-month period of notice is observed. In the event of serious breaches of its contractual obligations, the carrier will be deemed to have terminated the contract without notice if it does not resume the service in accordance with the public service obligation within one month of the serving of formal notice.

9.4.   Penalties or other deductions provided for in the contract: Failure by the carrier to observe the period of notice referred to in Section 9.3 will be subject either to an administrative fine pursuant to Article R.330-20 of the Civil Aviation Code, or to a penalty calculated on the basis of the number of months of default and the actual operating loss of the route during the year in question, but not exceeding the maximum financial compensation provided for in Section 9.1.

In the event of minor breaches of the public service obligation, the maximum financial compensation provided for in Section 9.1 will be reduced, without prejudice to the application of Article R.330-20 of the Civil Aviation Code.

Such reductions will take account, as appropriate, of the number of flights cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, the number of flights made with less than the required capacity, and the number of flights not complying with the public service obligation in terms of stopovers and fares charged.

10.   Submission of applications: Application files must be enclosed in sealed envelopes marked ‘Réponse à l'appel de candidatures n° 2-2007 – À n'ouvrir que par le destinataire’ (‘Response to Call for tenders No 2-2007 – To be opened only by the addressee’). They must be sent by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt (the date on the latter serving as proof of the date of receipt) or delivered by hand (in which case a receipt must be obtained) to reach the following address by no later than 17:00 local time on 24 August 2007:

Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental, Aérodrome d'Agen La Garenne, F-47520 Le Passage.

11.   Subsequent procedure: No later than 29 August 2007, the Syndicat mixte pour l'aéroport départemental will send the applicants selected the rules for awarding the tender and a draft contract.

The applicants selected must submit their bids by no later than 17:00 local time on 28 September 2007.

The bid will be binding on the tenderer for a period of 280 days from its submission.

12.   Validity of the public tender: The validity of this invitation to tender is subject to the condition that no Community carrier presents by 3 November 2007 a programme for operating the route in question from 3 December 2007 in accordance with the public service obligation imposed and without receiving any financial compensation.

13.   Requests for additional information: To obtain any information they may need, applicants may contact the Director of the Syndicat Mixte de l'aérodrome départemental at the address/fax number indicated in Section 2 above, exclusively by letter or fax.

STATE AID — HUNGARY

State aid No C 10/07 (ex NN 13/07) — Tax deductions for intra-group interest

Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 142/06)

By means of the letter dated 21 March 2007 reproduced in the authentic language on the pages following this summary, the Commission notified the Republic of Hungary of its decision to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty concerning the abovementioned measure.

Interested parties may submit their comments on the measure in respect of which the Commission is initiating the procedure within one month of the date of publication of this summary and the following letter, to:

These comments will be communicated to the Republic of Hungary. Confidential treatment of the identity of the interested party submitting the comments may be requested in writing, stating the reasons for the request.

TEXT OF SUMMARY

1.   PROCEDURE

As of January 2003, the Hungarian authorities introduced new provisions regarding favourable taxation of net interest income between affiliated companies belonging to the same group. The measure has not been notified to the Commission. By letter dated 19 November 2004, the Commission requested information from the Hungarian authorities, which was provided on 14 December 2004.

2.   DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE

The scheme provides for the possibility to deduct from the taxable base in Hungary 50 % of the amount of the net interest received from affiliated companies. At the same time, if the amount of interest payments to affiliated companies exceeds the amount of interest income received from affiliated companies, 50 % of the net interest paid shall be added to the taxable base. The scheme only applies to interest received from and paid to affiliated companies.

3.   ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURE

At this stage, the Commission considers that the scheme confers a selective economic advantage in so far as it provides tax advantages with regard to intra-group financing activities of multinational groups. The Commission doubts that the scheme would constitute a general measure, for the following reasons.

Insurance companies, financial institutions, investment enterprises and venture capital companies, as well as small enterprises are de jure excluded from its scope of application.

At the level of the individual undertaking, only companies being part of a group can benefit from the lower taxation foreseen by the scheme.

At the level of the group, the scheme confers an advantage for cross-border situations with inbound interest, when the net interest-receiving company is Hungarian, while the net interest-paying company is non-resident. Therefore the scheme seems to provide benefits for multinational groups which carry out intra-group financing activities in Hungary.

Furthermore, the opt-out possibility from the application of the scheme, which can be changed on a yearly basis, is an additional factor to consider that the measure is an exception from the tax system in Hungary. The Commission considers at this stage that the measure constitutes incompatible State aid.

In accordance with Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 (1), all unlawful aid can be subject to recovery from the recipient.

TEXT OF LETTER

(1)  OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.

(2)  HL C 2., 1998.1.6., 2. o.

(3)  Például, ha egy vállalat 100 egységnyi kamatot kap kapcsolt vállalkozásoktól, és ugyanez a vállalat 60 egységnyi kamatot fizet kapcsolt vállalkozásoknak, az egyenleg 40 egység, ami a kapott nettó kamat.

(4)  Ha egy vállalat 100 egységnyi kamatot kap kapcsolt vállalkozásoktól, és ugyanez a vállalat 160 egységnyi kamatot fizet kapcsolt vállalkozásoknak, az egyenleg 60 egység, ami a fizetett nettó kamat.

(5)  A társasági adóról és az osztalékadóról szóló 1996. évi LXXXI. törvény 4. paragrafusának (23) bekezdése.

(6)  A társasági adóról és az osztalékadóról szóló 1996. évi LXXXI. törvény 7. paragrafusának (14) bekezdése.

(7)  A társasági adóról és az osztalékadóról szóló 1996. évi LXXXI. törvény 29/D. paragrafusának (15) bekezdése.

(8)  Ha az »A« vállalkozás két kapcsolt vállalkozástól kamatot kap, 50 egységnyit a »B« és 60 egységnyit a »C« vállalkozástól, és a »B« vállalkozás alkalmazza a kimaradást és úgy dönt, hogy nem növeli adóalapját, akkor az »A« vállalkozás az intézkedésben foglaltak alkalmazása során csak a »C« vállalkozástól kapott 60 egységnyi kamatot használhatja fel. Következésképpen az »A« vállalkozás teljes mértékben megadóztatható a »B« vállalkozástól kapott 50 egységnyi kamat után, míg a »C« vállalkozástól kapott 60 egységnyi kamat fele után adózik.

(9)  HL C 384., 1998.12.10., 3. o.

(10)  A társasági adóról és az osztalékadóról szóló 1996. évi LXXXI. törvény 29/D. paragrafusának (15) bekezdése.

(11)  A programot alkalmazó vállalatok csupán egy része számára nyújt majd további előnyt a kimaradás lehetősége.

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.4745 — Cerberus/Promontoria/Focus)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 142/07)

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

(2)  OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32.