No. 01/16
07 January 2016
Covers the period from 18 December 2015 to 07 January 2016
Highlights
Commission concludes the resolution of Greek Cooperative Bank of Peloponnese involves no aid
18.12.2015 - The European Commission has found that resolution support for Cooperative Bank of Peloponnese does
not involve State aid within the meaning of the EU rules.
Read more
Commission approves additional aid for Cypriot cooperative banks on the basis of an amended
restructuring plan
18.12.2015 - The European Commission has approved additional state aid of €175 million in favour of the Cooperative
Central Bank Ltd. in Cyprus and its subsidiaries in line with EU state aid rules.
The Commission concluded in particular that the additional restructuring measures that the bank committed to
implement will ensure that the bank becomes viable in the long-term whilst distortions of competition will be
minimised.
Read more
Commission approves additional aid up to €3 billion for the resolution of Portuguese bank Banif and asset
sale to Banco Santander Totta
21.12.2015 - The European Commission has approved Portuguese plans to provide about €2.25 billion of state aid to
cover the funding gap in the resolution of Portuguese bank Banco Internacional do Funchal S.A. (Banif) as in line with
EU state aid rules.
Another aid measure amouting to €422 million covers the transfer of impaired assets to an asset management vehicle.
Finally, the Commission approved an additional buffer in the form of a state guarantee to cater for potential recent
changes of values in the part sold to Banco Santander Totta, bringing the total potential aid measures up to €3 billion.
Read more
Commission welcomes further restructuring and approves prolongation of liquidity measures for
Portuguese bank Novo Banco to facilitate its sale process
21.12.2015 - The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a prolongation of Portuguese state
guarantees on bonds in the nominal amount of €3.5 billion, issued by Portuguese bank Novo Banco.
In particular, the Commission found that the prolongation should contribute to ensuring the maintenance of adequate
liquidity for Novo Banco. It also welcomes that Portuguese authorities have committed to additional restructuring
measures to improve the bank’s viability and efficiency. Both elements should help facilitate the sale process of Novo
Banco, which Portugal intends to re-launch in January next year.
Read more
Commission invites Greece to better target its "tonnage tax" and related support measures in maritime
sector
21.12.2015 - The European Commission has sent to Greece a set of proposals to ensure that state support to the
maritime sector in Greece complies with EU state aid rules.
In particular, the Commission found that current provisions may breach EU state aid rules by allowing shareholders of
shipping companies to benefit from favourable tax treatment that should be reserved for maritime transport providers.
Similarly, the Commission is concerned that favourable tax treatment is also extended to maritime sector
intermediaries and operators of ships, which do not provide maritime transport services.
Read more
Commission finds Italy provided incompatible state aid to Banca Tercas and welcomes plans of private
funds to step in
23.12.2015 - Following an in-depth probe, the European Commission has concluded that the support granted by the
Italian mandatory deposit guarantee scheme to Banca Tercas constitutes incompatible state aid based on the facts and
circumstances at hand.
Banca Tercas is a small Italian bank with a market share of about 0.1% of total banking assets in Italy. In July 2014,
the Italian mandatory deposit guarantee scheme Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi (FITD) intervened in
favour of Banca Tercas in order to cover the losses of the bank and support its sale to Banca Popolare di Bari. The
Commission found that the FITD acted on behalf of the Italian State. The measures are not in line with EU state aid
rules, because Italy did not present a restructuring plan and the measures did not minimise the aid nor the resulting
State Aid Weekly e-News No 01/16
1
distortions of competition. The Commission welcomes that private banks are now considering supporting Banca Tercas
voluntarily. In any case, depositors remain fully protected.
Read more
Fact sheet - State aid to Italian bank Banca Tercas and the financial sector in general – Frequently Asked
Questions
23.12.2015 - Following an in-depth probe, the European Commission has concluded that the support granted by the
Italian mandatory deposit guarantee scheme to Banca Tercas constitutes incompatible state aid based on the facts and
circumstances at hand.
Read more
Commission opens in-depth investigation into UK public support for Drax power plant
05.01.2016 - The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the United Kingdom's
plans to support the conversion of part of the Drax coal power plant to operate on biomass are in line with EU state aid
rules.
The Commission fully supports Member State efforts to increase the use of renewable energy and pursue EU energy
and climate objectives. At the same time, EU state aid rules make sure that the cost of such support for consumers is
limited and does not give certain operators an unfair advantage over competitors. Therefore, the Commission will now
investigate further to make sure that the public funds used to support the Drax project are limited to what is
necessary and do not result in overcompensation. It will also assess whether the positive effects of the project in
achieving EU energy and environmental objectives outweigh potential competition distortions in the market for
biomass. The opening of an in-depth investigation gives the UK and interested third parties an opportunity to submit
comments. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.
Read more
In this issue:
Public consultations on draft legislation >>
Additional points of interest >>
Commission Decisions >>
Block exemptions >>
Public consultations on draft legislation
Consultation on the Notice on a Simplified Procedure for the Treatment of Certain Types of
Aid
The European Commission is consulting stakeholders on whether to repeal or revise the Simplified
Procedure Notice. The Commission intends to carry out a review to reflect, on the one hand, the
amendments brought to the State aid framework (in particular with regard to the General Block
Exemption Regulation No 800/2008 and the Procedural Regulation No 1589/2015) and, on the other
hand, to take account of the experience gained with the implementation of the Notice. The objective is
to ensure coherence and consistency in the application of the various instruments of the State Aid
framework and to draw conclusions on the implementation and effectiveness of the Notice (read more)
Deadline
for
comments
From
06.01.2016
until
06.04.2016
All public consultations: DG Competition / DG Agriculture / DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Commission Decisions
List of Commission Decisions taken during the reporting period, regardless of their publication in the Official Journal.
The list of Commission Decisions recently published in the Official Journal is available here.
Decision not to raise objections
Case
Number
Country
Title
Objective
Decision
date
DG Competition
Austria
SA.41175
Broadband Austria 2020
Other
17/12/2015
Cyprus
SA.43367
2015 additional restructuring aid to the
Cooperative Central Bank
Restructuring firms
in difficulty
18/12/2015
Greece
SA.43825
Prolongation of the Greek financial support
measures (Art. 2 law 3723/2008)
Remedy for a
serious disturbance
in the economy
18/12/2015
State Aid Weekly e-News No 01/16
2
SA.43886
Resolution of Cooperative Bank of Peloponnese
Remedy for a
serious disturbance
in the economy
17/12/2015
Ireland
SA.43745
8th prolongation of the Credit Union Resolution
Scheme H1 2016
Remedy for a
serious disturbance
in the economy
17/12/2015
Italy
SA.42864
Rescue aid to IMT S.p.A. in A. S.
Rescuing firms in
difficulty
17/12/2015
SA.43976
Amendment of the 2014 Resolution of Banco
Espirito Santo S.A. (Novo Banco S.A.)
19/12/2015
SA.43977
Resolution of Banif - Banco Internacional do
Funchal, S.A.
21/12/2015
SA.42133
Scheme of State Aid for environmental protection
to reduce air pollution and improve air quality for
the 2014-2020 programming period
Portugal
Slovakia
Environmental
protection
6/01/2016
France
07/01/2016
Aid for investment
in connection with
the processing of
agricultural
products and the
marketing of
agricultural
products
17/12/2015
DG Agriculture
France
SA.43200
Aide aux contributions financières des fonds de
mutualisation
Federation: Point 3 “Improvement of marketing”
of the GAK Framework - Notification of support
to intermediate enterprises related to measure
2.0 “Investments in the processing and
marketing of agricultural products”
Germany
SA.42954
Italy
SA.41321
Green infrastructures with ecological objective to
enhance the natural capital
Aid for afforestation
and creation of
woodland
6/01/2016
Italy
SA.42821
Supply chain and district contracts
Aid for investment
in connection with
the processing of
agricultural
products and the
marketing of
agricultural
products
6/01/2016
Decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure
Case
Number
Country
Title
Objective
Decision
date
DG Competition
Germany
SA.34402
State financing of software solutions for
universities (HIS) - Germany
Sectoral
development
23/12/2015
United
Kingdom
SA.38760
Drax 3rd Unit Biomass Conversion
Environmental
protection
5/01/2016
Negative decision with recovery
Case
Number
Country
Title
Objective
Decision
date
DG Competition
Italy
SA.39451
State support to Banca TERCAS - (ex-officio)
State Aid Weekly e-News No 01/16
Remedy for a
serious disturbance
23/12/2015
3
in the economy
Proposal for appropriate measures
Case
Number
Country
Title
Decision
date
Objective
DG Competition
Greece
SA.33828
Greek tonnage tax scheme and other State
measure in favour of shipping companies
18/12/2015
Links to the some cases are not yet available. Please refer to the Register webpage and make a manual search in the
days immediately after the publication date of this issue to access the information on the specific cases. The editorial
team apologises for any inconvenient this might cause.
Block exemptions
Block Exemptions information sheets published in the State Aid register during the reporting period.
Additional points of interest
Events
Title
Date
Essentials of State Aid Law and Procedures
Place
Organiser
8-9 February
Brussels
Lexxion
18-19
February
Barcelona
EIPA
18-19
February
Berlin
European Academy for
Taxes, Economics & Law
19 February
Paris
Lexxion
22-23
February
Berlin
European Academy for
Taxes, Economics & Law
8-9 March
Maastricht
EIPA
14-15 March
Brussels
Lexxion
17-18 March
Berlin
Lexxion
31 March – 2
April
Milan
Lexxion
21-22 April
Berlin
European Academy for
Taxes, Economics & Law
19-20 May
Brussels
ERA
Read more
Ayudas de Estado y Medio Ambiente
Read more
Major Projects funded by ESI funds 2014-2020
Read more
The Rights and Duties of Providers and Beneficiaries
of State Aid
Read more
The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) in
Practice
Read more
Advanced State Aid Seminar
Read more
State Aid for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Read more
EU Funding and State Aid for Energy
Read more
EStAL Seminar 2016: State Aid and Services of
General Economic Interest (SGEI)
Read more
State Aid & SGEI in Health care, Social services and
Infrastructures
Read more
State Aid Proceedings and Litigation
Read more
State Aid Weekly e-News No 01/16
4
Next publication date: Thursday 14.01.2016
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About e-News
This e-News is issued every week to present the latest developments in the area of State aid. It features information
on new legislative texts and proposals, decisions of the European Commission and the Courts of the European Union
and other state aid–related documents and events. A great deal of additional information on State aid matters is
available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server.
Other documents related to the cases, can be found under the link to the State aid Register.
Publisher
European Commission
DG Competition
Unit A-3 – State aid strategy
Chief Editor: Nicola Pesaresi
Editing team: Valerie Nechelput, Christine Jacob, Hildegard Vandromme
Contact the publisher for comments, queries or suggestions: [email protected]
Disclaimer
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completeness, accuracy of the information and the use which might be made of the information provided in this
document.
© European Union 2015.
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