91998E0515

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0515/98 by Paul Rübig (PPE) to the Council (27 February 1998)

Subject: Right of information under the group exemption regulation

There is still room for improvement in the legal position of the recipients of EU aid and that of interested third parties. At present the recipient of aid has no way of requiring notification by the awarding agency. He therefore remains exposed to the danger of having to repay the aid. Nor, as a rule, can third parties affected by aid that distorts competition obtain information on legal acts of allocation directly in the Member States: they are forced to resort to the lengthy process of putting questions to the Commission.

The proposal for a group exemption regulation in the case of horizontal state aid (COM(97)0396) now gratifyingly provides for a right on information for recipients of aid and interested third parties. The proposal will both greatly reduce the administrative effort involved in the aid procedure and ensure a transparent system of legal protection.

According to reports, the appropriate Council working party has departed from the proposed right of information. This means that legal protection for the sectors of the economy concerned will not only not remain at the same level but will in effect deteriorate.

How does the Council now view the current state of the debate on this subject? In the Council's opinion, can such an approach really satisfy the legal protection requirements in a European domestic market?

Answer (18 May 1998)

The Honourable Member is informed that the preparatory discussions concerning the proposal for a Regulation on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the EC Treaty to certain categories of horizontal state aid are continuing in the Council's subordinate bodies. Pending the Opinion of the European Parliament, the Council has not yet determined its final position.

Once it has received that Opinion, the Council will complete its discussions as soon as possible.