State aid: aid to industry and services, scoreboard for 2001 and 2002

The European Commission has presented its report on the implementation in 2001 of Commission Decision 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996 establishing Community rules for State aid to the steel industry (Steel Aid Code). In 2001, the Commission took decisions concerning 24 cases, ten of which were approved without opening the investigating procedure, ten were the object of final decisions and the other four were decisions to initiate proceedings. The cases that the Commission approved without raising any objections concerned aid towards research and development activities carried out by undertakings in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, aid towards investments for environmental protection in Spain and Austria and a participation by Belgium in the capital of a new company. The four new procedures concern a case of non-notified intervention by Spain in a new company in relation to investments, two cases of research and development, in Spain and in Italy, and a case of a environmental tax law in the United Kingdom. The Commission took a final negative decision concerning the French law on tax credits for foreign investments made by steel companies, as it had done the year before in the case of a similar Spanish law. It also took a final negative decision concerning the aid notified by Germany in favour of Brema Warmwalzwerk (environment) and of Eko-Stahl (R&D) and a partially negative decision concerning aid notified by Belgium in favour of Sidmar (environment). Three cases were closed taking note of the withdrawal of the aid notifications made by Germany and by Italy.�