Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-14-Speech-2-188"
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"en.19991214.7.2-188"2
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"The Commission is aware that the sawmills in what used to be East Germany are granted considerable state aid. While it is possible that the aid in question is compatible with the German systems and the Treaties, the Commission is very concerned by the distortion that it causes through the concentration of growing levels of production capacity in this particular industrial sector. As regards the acceptability of this aid, the Commission is carrying out a particularly detailed study of the compatibility with the common market of a series of aid measures for numerous businesses, in particular KNT, Klenk e Pollmeier.
It must be pointed out that this new capacity is to be found in areas that are assisted pursuant to Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty, that is to say, in regions where the standard of living is abnormally low or where there is a serious underemployment problem. The assessment of the compatibility of all the aid granted has not yet finished, due to the information being incomplete. The investigation addresses in particular, the issue of respecting the criteria laid down by the relevant regional systems.
Moreover, the Commission has adopted initiatives with the intention of clarifying whether the beneficiaries are complying with all the criteria concerning the definition of small and medium-sized businesses, set out in its recommendation of 1996. In particular, I would like to stress the importance of ensuring that there is no evasion of the regulations. Businesses which formally respect the criteria for the definition of small and medium-sized businesses – particularly because they have less than 250 employees – but are in fact controlled by a large business, or by a group of large businesses, should not benefit from special incentives intended for small and medium-sized businesses. Finally, as regards the question of the adequacy of the current rules
on the authorisation of state aid for small and medium-sized businesses, an overall study of the subject would be needed.
As for the specific characteristics of the forestry sector, the Commission recently issued a communication on the competitiveness of forestry product industries and related industries in the European Union. This document, issued in October of this year, states that among other things, with the aim of ensuring the overall, sustainable competitiveness of the European Union forestry industry or related industries, it will be necessary to guarantee an environment that promotes fair competition and to encourage European Union industry to adapt to fiercer competition."@en1
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