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CHAPTER IV
OTHER MEASURES
Article 6
Investment aid for innovation
Aid granted for innovation in existing shipbuilding, ship repair and ship conversion yards may be deemed compatible with the common market up to a maximum aid intensity of 10 per cent gross, provided that it relates to the industrial application of innovative products and processes that are genuinely and substantially new, i.e. are not currently used commercially by other operators in the sector within the Community, and which carry a risk of technological or industrial failure, subject to the following conditions:
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the aid is limited to supporting expenditure on investments and engineering
activities directly and exclusively related to the innovative part of the project, |
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the amount and intensity of the aid is limited to the minimum necessary taking
account of the degree of risk associated with the project. |
Article 7
Regional investment aid
Aid granted for investment in upgrading or modernising existing yards, not linked to a financial restructuring of the yard(s) concerned, with the objective of improving the productivity of existing installations, may be deemed compatible with the common market provided that:
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in regions meeting the criteria for the option contained in Article 92(3)(a)
of the Treaty and complying with the map approved by the Commission for each Member
State for the grant of regional aid, the intensity of the aid does not exceed
22.5 per cent, |
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in regions meeting the criteria for the option contained in Article 92(3)(c)
of the Treaty and complying with the map approved by the Commission for each Member
State for the grant of regional aid, the intensity of the aid does not exceed
12.5 per cent or the applicable regional aid ceiling, whichever is the lower, |
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the aid is limited to support eligible expenditure as defined in the applicable
Community guidelines on regional aid. |
Article 8
Research and development
Aid granted to defray expenditure by shipbuilding, ship repair or ship conversion undertakings on research and development projects may be considered compatible with the common market if it is in compliance with the rules laid down in the Community framework for State aid for research and development (1), or any successor arrangements.
Article 9
Environmental protection
Aid granted to defray expenditure by shipbuilding, ship repair or ship conversion undertakings for environmental protection may be considered compatible with the common market if it is in compliance with the rules laid down in the Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection (2) or any successor arrangements.
CHAPTER V
MONITORING PROCEDURES AND ENTRY INTO FORCE
Article 10
Notification
| 1. |
Aid to shipbuilding, ship repair and ship conversion undertakings covered
ty this Regulation shall be subject to, in addition to the provisions of Article
93 of the Treaty, the special notification rules provided for in paragraph 2. |
| 2. |
The following shall be notified to the Commission in advance by the Member
States and authorised by the Commission before they are put into effect: |
| (a) |
any aid scheme - new or existing - or any amendment of an existing scheme
covered by this Regulation; |
| (b) |
any decision to apply a generally applicable aid scheme, including generally
applicable regional aid schemes, to the undertakings covered by this Regulation
in order to verify compatibility with Article 92 of the Treaty, in particular
in cases referred to in Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 unless the aid is below the de
minimis threshold of ECU 100 000 over any three-year period; |
| (c) |
any individual application of aid schemes in the following cases: |
| (i) |
those referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3(3) and in Article
3(5), Article 4, and Article 5; or |
| (ii) |
when specifically provided for by the Commission in its approval of the aid
scheme concerned. |
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Article 11
Monitoring of application of aid rules
| 1. |
To enable the Commission to monitor application of the aid rules contained
in Chapters II to IV, Member States shall supply it with: |
| (a) |
monthly reports on each shipbuilding and ship conversion contract by the end
of the third month following the month of signing of each contract, in accordance
with the annexed Schedule 1; |
| (b) |
completion reports on each shipbuilding and ship conversion contract, including
those signed before the entry into force of this Regulation, by the end of the
month following the month of completion, in accordance with the annexed Schedule
1; |
| (c) |
where requested by the Commission, yearly reports, to be provided by 1 March
of the year following the year subject to the report, giving details of the total
amount of aid granted to each individual national shipyard during the previous
calendar year, in accordance with the annexed Schedule 2; |
| (d) |
in the case of shipyards able to build merchant ships over 5000 gt, yearly
reports to be provided not later than two months after the annual general meeting
has approved the shipyard's yearly report, giving publicly available information
on capacity developments and on the structure of ownership, in accordance with
the annexed Schedule 3; such reports shall be submitted biannually after the first
annual report has been submitted unless the Commission decides to request yearly
reports to continue; |
| (e) |
in the case of shipyards which have received restructuring aid in accordance
with Article 5, quarterly reports on the attainment of the restructuring objectives,
including the following elements: disbursement and use of the aid, investments,
productivity performance, employment reductions, viability; |
| (f) |
in the case of shipyards benefiting from contracts supported by aid in the
form of development assistance, such information as the Commission may require
to enable it to ensure that the conditions of Article 3(5) are respected. |
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| 2. |
In the case of shipyards engaged in both commercial and military shipbuilding,
ship repair or ship conversion, the reports referred to in (d) of paragraph 1
shall be accompanied by an attestation by the statutory auditor certifying the
apportionment of the overheads to these two fields. In addition, separate information
shall be submitted on the turnover in the commercial and military fields. |
| 3. |
On the basis of the information communicated to it in accordance with Article
10 and paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall draw up an annual overall
report to serve as a basis for discussion with national experts and the Council.
The report shall also be sent to the European Parliament for information. Separate
half-yearly reports will be drawn up on cases involving restructuring aids. |
| 4. |
If a Member State does not fully comply with its reporting obligations as
laid down in paragraph 1, the Commission may, after consultation and after having
given due notice, require that that Member State suspend outstanding payments
of aid already approved until such time as all due reports have been received
by the Commission. |
If the reporting by a Member State under paragraph 1 is punctual but incomplete and at the time of reporting that Member State specifies those yards which have not fulfilled their reporting obligations, the Commission shall limit its possible requirement for suspension of outstanding aid payments to such yards only.
Article 12
Commission report
The Commission shall present to the Council a regular report on the market situation and appraise whether European yards are affected by anti-competitive practices. If it is established that industry is being caused injury by anti-competitive practices of any kind, the Commission shall, where appropriate, propose to the Council measures to address the problem.
The first report shall be presented to the Council no later than 31 December 1999.
Article 13
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1999.
It shall apply until 31 December 2003.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 1998.
For the Council
The President
R. COOK.
1 0J C 45, 17.2.1996,p.5.
2 0J C 72, 10.3.1994,p.3.
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