EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 15.03.2013 C (2013)1660 final

PUBLIC VERSION

This document is made available for information purposes only.

Subject: State aid SA. 36092 (2013/N) – Rescue aid to RDB SpA – Italy

Sir,

1. PROCEDURE

(1) On 17 January 2012, Italy notified rescue aid to RDB SpA. The Commission services requested additional information by e-mail of 23 January 2013. Italy provided the information requested by e-mail of 24 January 2013.

2. DESCRIPTION

2.1. The beneficiary

(2) RDB SpA designs, produces and installs construction prefabricates. The company is specialised in large buildings and structures, and its history goes back to the year 1908. RDB SpA is headquartered in Pontenure, province of

S.E. Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata Ministero degli Affari Esteri Piazzale della Farnesina, 1 I-00135 ROMA

Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles – Belgique Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel – België Telefono: 00-32-(0)2-299.11.11 Piacenza, region of Emilia Romagna - an area that is not eligible for regional aid during the period 2007-2013.1

(3) As of December 2012, RDB SpA had four productions sites, located respectively in: Monticelli d'Ongina – province of Piacenza, region of Emilia Romagna;2 Belfiore – province of Verona, region of Venezia;3 Tortoreto – province of Teramo, region of Abruzzo;4 and Bellona – province of Caserta, region of Campania.5 Only the first two of these production sites, i.e. Monticelli d'Ongina and Belfiore, were active as of December 2012. As of the same date, RDB SpA had 707 employees, of which 530 were in Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (CIGS).6

(4) RDB SpA holds participations of 91.05% and 91.67% respectively in: RDB Hebel SpA, which is specialised in concrete constructions, and RDB Terrecotte Srl, which is specialised in brick-covered constructions (laterizi faccia a vista).7 Both RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl are located in Pontenure, province of Piacenza, region of Emilia Romagna.8 Hereinafter, RBD SpA and these two controlled companies are referred to as 'the RDB group'.

(5) The RDB group was considerably affected by the reduction of construction projects and payment delays in the context of the economic and financial crisis. The table below summarises the key financial indicators of the RDB group, based on the closed financial reports for 2010 and 2011, consolidated at the level of the group. At the time of the notification, only provisional financial reports for the first 6 months of 2012, for RDB SpA only, were available. As the RDB group was put in insolvency in 2012 (see recitals 6- 10 below), it no longer has the legal obligation of closing financial reports. The data below indicates efforts to reduce the high level of indebtedness of the group, but in spite of these efforts, from 2010 to 2011 the group's own equity registered a dramatic change, from EUR 134.1 in 2010 to –EUR 110.9 in 2011.

1 See National regional state aid map for Italy, approved by the Commission by Decision of 28 November 2007 in state aid case N 324/07 Italy, OJ C 90 of 11.4.2008, p. 4-, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:090:0004:0015:EN:PDF. 2 Not eligible for regional aid during the period 2007-2013 – see ftn. 1 above. 3 Not eligible for regional aid during the period 2007-2013 - see ftn. 1 above. 4 Commune eligible for regional aid up to a ceiling of 15% during the period 2007-2013 – see ftn. 1 above. 5 The whole region of Campania is an assisted area under Article 107(3)(a) TFEU during the period 2007-2013, with a maximum ceiling of regional aid for large undertakings of 30% - see ftn. 1 above. 6 Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (CIGS) is the Italian system whereby employees in companies in insolvency, restructuring etc., who interrupted their activity or work on a reduced basis, are paid part of the salaries they would have normally received by the State, on a temporary and limited basis. Further information available on http://www.inps.it/portale/default.aspx?itemdir=5796. 7 Further information about the RDB group and its members is available at www.rdb.it. 8 Not eligible for regional aid during the period 2007-2013 – see ftn. 1 above. 2

(in million EUR) 2010 2011 EBITDA 1.0 -71.4 Revenue from sales 201.3 138.6 Registered capital 42.98 57.85 Reserves 93.51 89.85 Own equity 134.1 -110.9 Total debt 296.55 220.96 Net financial debt -117.0 -68.3 Debt/equity 2.21 -1.99

(6) Against this background, the group leader RDB SpA was declared insolvent by judgment of 13 July 2012 by the Court of Piacenza. By ruling of 13 Augusta 2012, the Court of Piacenza opened the special administration procedure (Amministrazione Straordinaria) for RDB SpA.

(7) In the Italian legal system, large companies in insolvency for which the court establishes that there are perspectives of recovery may be placed under this special administration procedure. This procedure, governed by the Law Decree (Decreto Legislativo) 270/99,9 allows large insolvent companies to continue their activity under the supervision of court-appointed administrators (Commisari Straordinari), with a view to either being restructured or being sold to third parties as an on-going concern.

(8) By Ministerial Decree of 17 September 2012, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (Ministero per lo Sviluppo Economico) appointed three Special Commissioners (Commisari Straordinari) to administrate RDB SpA throughout the special administration procedure.

(9) The special administration procedure established by Law Decree 270/99 foresees that, within two months from the opening of the special administration procedure, the appointed Special Commissioners must present to the Ministry of Economic Development a Report proposing either that the company be sold based on a program for the sale of the company assets (programma di cessione dei beni aziendali10), or that the company be restructured, on the basis of a restructuring plan lasting no longer than 2 years.

(10) In the case of RDB SpA, the Special Commissioners presented this Report on 17 December 2012. The Report proposes sale of the company assets within a programma di cessione. The Special Commissioners note that the alternative of restructuring would require a large recapitalisation, which does not seem realistic in the current economic and financial context. At the time of the notification the Ministry of Economic development had not yet taken a decision on the Report. Should the proposal of the Special Commissioners of a programma di cessione for RDB SpA be approved, then, under Art. 66 of the Decreto Legislativo 270/99, the programma di cessione must be completed

9 Published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 185 of 9 August 1999.

10 Art. 27, comma 2, of the Decreto Legislativo 270/99. 3

within 12 months from its approval. This period may be prolonged up to maximum 3 months if proven necessary for finalising the sale to third parties.

(11) In parallel with the above-described developments, the two controlled subsidiaries of RDB SpA, i.e. RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl, were also declared insolvent by ruling of the Court of Piacenza of 10 August 2012. By ruling of 11 December 2012, the Court of Piacenza added the two controlled subsidiaries into the special administration procedure of the leader of the group, RDB SpA. The entire RDB group is currently under the supervision of RDB SpA's three Special Commissioners.

(12) It is also noted that, at the time when RDB SpA was admitted to insolvency, it held a participation of 50% into a Joint-Venture entitled RDB El Seif Company Ltd. The other 50% of the Joint-Venture was owned by the Saudi Arabian company El Seif Commercial Investment Company. In November 2012, RDB SpA sold its 50% participation into this Joint-Venture to the Saudi Arabian partner.

2.2. The notified measure

(13) Italy notified a state guarantee covering 100% of a credit line of EUR 25 million, to be used as follows: EUR 15 million for financing the working capital needed for continuing operations, and EUR 10 million for bid/performance/advance payments (fidejussioni a sostegno di operazioni commerciali) which guarantee to the clients completion of their orders. No fee will be charged for this guarantee.

(14) The terms and conditions of the actual financing are still not defined, but the Italian authorities commit that the financing shall be granted at an interest rate comparable to those of loans to healthy firms, and in any event, above the reference rate adopted by the Commission for Italy. Hence the 1-year IBOR rate increased with at least 100 basis points will be applied.11

(15) The state guarantee shall be issued on 1 May 2013, for six months, i.e. until 1 November 2013. Within 4 months from the opening of the credit line, the beneficiary must present either a restructuring or liquidation plan, or confirm the contractual engagement to reimburse the financing until expiry of the guarantee.

(16) The Italian authorities have also confirmed that neither RDB SpA nor the members of RDB group have received any rescue or restructuring aid in the ten years preceding the notification.

11 In line with the Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates, OJ C 14 of 19.01.2008, p. 6 (hereafter: "the 2008 Reference Rate Communication"). 4

3. ASSESSMENT

3.1. Existence of state aid

(17) Article 107(1) TFEU stipulates that any aid granted by a Member State or through state resources in any form whatsoever, which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods and affects trade among Member States is incompatible with the internal market. It follows that, for a state measure to be qualified as state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, the following cumulative criteria must be met: use of state resources; selective advantage to the beneficiary; and (potential) distorting effects on competition as well as intra-EU trade.

(18) Prior to examining if the notified measure involves state aid within the meaning of the above-mentioned TFEU definition, it should be noted that the Italian authorities themselves consider that this is the case.

Preliminary aspect: beneficiaries of the rescue aid

(19) Italy notified rescue aid only in favour of the leader of the group RDB SpA. However, after the exchange of information on 23 and 24 January 2013, it emerged that the two subsidiaries were also put in insolvency soon after RDB SpA, and that on 11 December 2012 they were 'merged' into the special administration procedure of RDB SpA (see recital (9) above). Since 11 December 2012 the entire RDB group, i.e. the group leader RDB SpA and the two subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl, are administrated by the same Special Commissioners. The Commission notes that, given the current situation whereby the group leader RDB SpA and the subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl are part of the same special administration procedure, and under the supervision of the same Special Commissioners, although the rescue aid shall be used for covering financing needs associated with production of RDB SpA, the two subsidiaries of RDB SpA will also benefit, be it indirectly, from the rescue aid. Furthermore, it cannot be guaranteed that the rescue aid used by RDB SpA does not have spill-over effects for the two subsidiaries. It must therefore be concluded that the entire RDB group is beneficiary of the rescue aid.

State resources

(20) The notified measure, i.e. a state guarantee covering 100% of a credit line up to EUR 25 million million, is granted by the Italian State. The measure stems from state resources and is imputable to the State.

Selective advantage

(21) To be considered state aid, a measure must be specific or selective in that it favours only certain undertakings and/or the production of certain goods.

(22) The notified measure is selective, as the state guarantee shall be issued to the benefit of a specific group of undertakings, i.e. RDB SpA and its subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl. 5

(23) The state guarantee confers an undue advantage to the RDB group insofar as it will allow it to have access to liquidity that it would not have obtained on the market without the State's support, especially since the RDB group is subject to an insolvency procedure. It must therefore be concluded that the measure provides a selective advantage to the RDB group

Distortion of competition and affectation of trade

(24) The Commission has analysed whether the measure distorts or threatens to distort competition and whether it affects intra-EU trade. When aid granted by a Member State strengthens the position of an undertaking compared to other undertakings competing in intra-Union trade, the latter must be regarded as affected by that aid.12

(25) The measure will improve the position of the recipient in relation to its actual and potential competitors in Italy and the EU. The RDB group is active in the construction sector, which was notably affected by the crisis, with the effect of intensified competition for obtaining scarcer orders. At present, RDB SpA's main competitors in Italy are Mabo Preffabbricati, MC Prefabbricati, Magnetti Building and Baraclit. Italy considers that, due to the specificities of RDB SpA's activities, i.e. specialisation in the design, fabrication and assembly of large concrete prefabricates, it is unlikely that similar producers from other Member States could compete on the Italian construction market, given the high transportation costs, unless establishing themselves production sites in Italy. This does not exclude, however, that this segment of the Italian construction market be open at least potentially to competition from other Member States. The Commission therefore concludes that the aid to the RDB group shall affect both competition and trade between Member States.

Conclusion on the existence of aid

(26) In light of the above, the Commission considers that the measure constitutes state aid pursuant to Article 107(1) TFEU.

(27) The Italian authorities notified their plans to give rescue aid to the RDB group, and committed to implement the aid only after the approval of it by the Commission. Italy thus respects the notification and stand-still obligations imposed by Article 108(3) TFEU.

3.2. Compatibility of the aid

(28) The Commission may authorise rescue aid as compatible with the internal market according to Article 107(3)(c) TFEU if it complies with the compatibility criteria laid down in the 2004 Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines13 (hereinafter "the R&R Guidelines"), which set out specific rules

12 See, in particular, Case 730/79 Philip Morris v Commission [1980] ECR 2671, para.11; Case C-53/00 Ferring [2001] ECR I-9067, para.21; Case C-372/97 Italy v Commission [2004] ECR I- 3679, para.44. 13 Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty, OJ C 244, 1.10.2004, p.2, prolonged in 2009, OJ C 156, 9.7.2009, p.3. 6

as to the eligibility of the firm for rescue and/or restructuring aid, its form, interest rate, and other compatibility conditions.

Eligibility for rescue aid

(29) According to Points 12(a) and 14 of the R&R Guidelines, only firms in difficulty are eligible for rescue aid.

(30) According to Point 9 of the R&R Guidelines, the Commission considers a firm to be in difficulty where it is unable, whether through its own resources or with the funds it is able to obtain from its owner/shareholder or creditors, to stem losses which, without outside intervention by the public authorities, will almost certainly condemn it to go out of business in the short or medium term.

(31) Under Point 10 of the R&R Guidelines, a firm is considered to be in difficulty in the following circumstances:

(a) In the case of limited liability companies, more than half of the registered capital has disappeared and more than one quarter of that capital has been lost over the preceding 12 months.

(b) In the case of companies where some members have unlimited liability, where more than half of the capital as shown in the accounts has disappeared and more than one quarter has been lost in the preceding 12 months.

(c) Whatever the type company concerned, when the criteria under domestic law for being the subject of collective insolvency proceedings are met.

(32) As the RDB group consists of limited liability companies, the Commission examined if the group qualifies as a firm in difficulty under paragraphs (a) or (c) of Point 10 of the R&R Guidelines.

(33) RDB SpA was declared insolvent on 13 July 2012, and admitted to the special administration procedure on 13 Augusta 2012 (see recitals (6)-(10) above). In their turn, the subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl were declared insolvent on 10 August 2012, and 'merged' into the special administration procedure of RDB SpA on 11 December 2012. Therefore each of the members of the RDB group qualifies as a firm in difficulty in the sense of Point 10 (c) of the R&R Guidelines, as not only they satisfy the criteria under Italian law for being the subject of collective insolvency proceedings, but they were actually placed in insolvency.

(34) The Commission also notes that in 2011 the RDB group had a negative own equity of - EUR 110.9 million (see recital (5) above). In earlier decisions14 the Commission concluded that an undertaking with negative equity will a fortiori

14 See e.g. Commission Decision of 7 October 2010 in State Aid C 38/07 (ex NN 45/07) Arbel Fauvet Rail SA, OJ L 238, 24.10.2007, p.17, or Commission Decision of 23 March 2011 on State Aid C 39/07 Legler SpA, OJ L 27 of 31.1.2011, p.12. 7

be considered to be in difficulty. In its Biria judgment15 the General Court also confirmed that a massive loss of capital is indeed a sign of difficulty.

(35) According to Point 12 of the R&R Guidelines, newly-created firms are not eligible for rescue aid. On this account, the Commission verified that the members of the RDB group did not start operations in the relevant field of activity less than three years prior to the notification. RDB SpA is active in the construction sector since 1908 (see recital (2) above). In their turn, the controlled companies RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl are active since the 1980s. The 'merger' of RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl into the special administration procedure of the group leader RDB SpA, which took place by ruling of the Court of Piacenza of 11 December 2012, only reunites members of the same group whose activities remain the same, and no new operations were deployed.

(36) Finally, Point 13 of the R&R Guidelines establishes that a firm belonging to or being taken over by a larger business group is not normally eligible for rescue or restructuring aid, except where it can be demonstrated that the firm's difficulties are intrinsic, and are not the result of an arbitrary allocation of costs within the group, and that the difficulties are too serious to be dealt with by the group itself.

(37) In the present case, as indicated in recital (19) above, the rescue aid shall benefit directly to the entire RDB group. Furthermore, each of the three members of the group and the group as a whole qualify are firms in difficulty. It is therefore not necessary to examine the criteria laid down in Point 13 of the R&R Guidelines insofar as the relationship between RDB SpA and the subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl are concerned.

(38) It is further noted that, in November 2012, RDB SpA sold in November 2012 its 50% participation in the Joint-Venture entitled RDB El Seif Company Ltd (see recital (12) above). According to the Report of the Special Commissioners of 17 December 2012 (see recital (10) above), at the mentioned date RDB SpA did not hold control participations other than those into RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl.

Compatibility conditions of Point 25 of the R&R Guidelines

(39) Rescue aid must meet the conditions set out in Point 25 of the R&R Guidelines in order to be declared compatible with the internal market.

(40) According to Points 15 and 25(a) of the R&R Guidelines, the rescue aid must consist of liquidity support in form of a loan or a guarantee; in both cases it must be granted at an interest rate at least comparable to that observed for loans for healthy firms. Any loan must be reimbursed and any guarantee must come to an end within a period of not more than six months after the disbursement of the first instalment to the firm.

15 Joined Cases T-102/07 Freistaat Sachsen v Commission and T-120/07 MB Immobilien Verwaltungs and MB System & Co. v Commission [2010] ECR II-585, paras.105-106 in particular. 8

(41) In the case at hand, the notified measure is a 100% State guarantee covering a credit line up to EUR 25 million. The credit will be used by RDB SpA to continue its activity during the programma di cessione leading to sale to third parties, as it was proposed in December 2012 by the Special Commissioners (see recital (10) above). The Italian authorities informed that no fee will be charged for this guarantee. As indicated in recital (14), the Italian authorities committed in their notification that the interests for the credits backed by the State guarantee will be in line with normal banking conditions for active undertakings, and in any case will not be lower than the Commission's reference rate applicable for the period when the said credit lines will be granted.16 The Italian authorities also committed in the same context that the guarantee shall be terminated after six months. The Commission therefore concludes that the notified measure satisfies the compatibility conditions laid down in Point 25(a) of the R&R Guidelines.

(42) According to Point 25(b) of the R&R Guidelines, rescue aid must be warranted on the grounds of serious social difficulties and have no undue spill-over effects on other Member States.

(43) In the present case, if the RDB group ceased its operations and the envisaged programma di cessione would not be carried out, this would have serious social consequences in terms of loss of both direct jobs within the RDB group itself and indirect jobs in the upstream and downstream. The job loss effects would be felt principally in the provinces of Piacenza and Verona, where the group has active production sites, but also in the provinces of Teramo and Caserta, where it is envisaged that RDB SpA would re-start production. The Commission therefore considers that the aid is warranted on grounds of serious social difficulties.

(44) The rescue aid was proposed principally for ensuring the financing of operations at RDB SpA, which is specialised in the production and assembly of concrete prefabricates for large buildings. Prefabricates for such constructions are of large dimensions and weight, therefore their transportation at long distances from the production sites involves prohibitive transaction costs. For this reason RDB SpA is mainly active in the Italian market, and relies on vicinity of construction sites to the production locations. It is therefore unlikely that the aid will create undue adverse spill-over effects on other Member States. Therefore it can be concluded that the aid is in line with Point 25(b) of the R&R Guidelines.

(45) Point 25(c) of the R&R Guidelines stipulates that rescue aid must be accompanied by the commitment of the Member State that, not later than six months after the rescue aid is authorised, a restructuring, liquidation plan or proof that the loan has been reimbursed in full and/or that the guarantee has been terminated is to be communicated to the Commission. The Commission takes note that the Special Commissioners have already proposed for the RDB group, in the Report of December 2012 (see recital (10) above), the solution of a

16 Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates, OJ C 14, 19.1.2008, p. 6. 9

programma di cessione within the context of the special administration procedure. This proposal shall be reviewed by the Ministry of Economy and Finances. Furthermore, as indicated in recital (15) above, the Italian authorities shall issue the state guarantee based on a commitment from RDB SpA that, within 4 months from the opening of the credit line, the latter must present either a restructuring or liquidation plan, or confirm the contractual engagement to reimburse the financing until expiry of the guarantee – the duration of the guarantee being of six months. Consequently, the notified measure is in line with Point 25(c) of the R&R Guidelines.

(46) According to Point 25(d) of the R&R Guidelines, rescue aid must be restricted to the amount needed to keep the firm in business for the period during which the aid is authorised. The amount necessary should be based on the liquidity needs of the company stemming from losses. In determining this amount, regard will be given to the outcome of the application of the formula set out in the Annex to the R&R Guidelines, and any amount exceeding the result of that calculation would have to be duly explained.

(47) The above-mentioned formula established in the Annex to the R&R Guidelines takes into account the beneficiary's EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) in the year preceding to notification (2011 in the case at stake), depreciation in the same reference year, and the variation in the beneficiary's working capital (calculated as the difference between current assets and current liabilities) with respect to the year preceding the reference year. The sum of all these elements is then divided by 2, so as to approximate the liquidity needs of the company over a six-month period – i.e. the duration of the rescue aid.

(48) The proposed rescue aid, totalling EUR 25 million, does not exceed the outcome of the above-described formula for the years 2010 and 2011. The formula was calculated for the years 2010 and 2011 because these are the last two years for which the consolidated financial reports of the RDB group are closed. For 2012, Italy presented only provisional financial reports for the group leader RDB SpA, as both the leader and the subsidiaries RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl were placed in insolvency during the summer of 2012.

(49) The 2010 and 2011 data that was taken into account are as follows:

- EBIT in 2011: EUR – 233 845 000

- Depreciation in 2011: EUR 140 479 000

- Provisions to be excluded from the operating result: EUR 65 696 000

- Working capital for 2010: EUR – 10 377 000 (current assets: EUR 179 870 000, minus current liabilities: EUR 190 247 000).

- Working capital for 2011: EUR – 81 572 000 (current assets: EUR 84 482 000, minus current liabilities: EUR 166 054 000).

(50) The outcome of the application of the formula is EUR – 49 433 000.

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(51) The Commission notes, first, that the outcome of the application of the formula in the case of the RDB group is negative, therefore the pre-condition for the application of the formula is satisfied. Second, the amount of rescue aid to be granted to the RDB group, namely EUR 25 million, is notably lower than the maximum resulting from the application of the formula. The reason why the rescue aid is lower than the outcome of the formula calculated based on 2010 and 2011 data is that the RDB group has notably downsized its activity in the course of the insolvency procedure. Indeed, based on the provisional financial data for 2012 and estimates of the activity to be carried out during the insolvency procedure, RDB SpA would need liquidity of EUR 15 million to cover its working capital needs during 6 months of operations in 2013, and another EUR 10 million are necessary for guaranteeing to clients the delivery of their orders (see also recital (13) above). On the basis of the preceding elements, the Commission concludes that the rescue aid is indeed restricted to a minimum amount, as required by Point 25(d) of the R&R Guidelines.

(52) Finally, with reference to Point 25(e) of the R&R Guidelines, i.e. compliance with the 'one time, last time' principle as stipulated in Section 3.3 of the R&R Guidelines, the Commission takes note that the Italian authorities confirmed that the members of the RDB group have not received rescue or restructuring aid over the last ten years. Therefore, the notified aid also complies with Point 25(e) of the R&R Guidelines. By the same token, it is noted that the RDB group did not receive any unlawful aid with respect to which the Commission had adopted a negative decision with a recovery order. Therefore the notified measure does not fall under the remit of Point 23 of the R&R Guidelines.

(53) In the light of the findings above, the Commission concludes that the notified measure meets the compatibility conditions resulting from Point 25 of the R&R Guidelines.

4. CONCLUSION

The Commission has accordingly decided to consider the rescue aid to the RDB group, including RDB SpA, RDB Hebel SpA and RDB Terrecotte Srl, all in special administration, consisting of a State guarantee covering credit lines of up to EUR 25 million, to be compatible with the internal market under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU pursuant to the R&R Guidelines.

If this letter contains confidential information which should not be disclosed to third parties, please inform the Commission within fifteen working days of the date of receipt. If the Commission does not receive a reasoned request by that deadline, you will be deemed to agree to the disclosure to third parties and to the publication of the full text of the letter in the authentic language on the Internet site http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/state_aids/state_aids_texts_en.htm.

Your request should be sent by registered letter or fax to:

European Commission

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Directorate-General for Competition State aid Greffe B-1049 Brussels Fax No: +32 (0)2 2961242

Yours faithfully, For the Commission

Joaquín ALMUNIA Vice-president

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