Brussels, 15/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 14 December, the European Commission authorised state aid in different member states for projects of public interest or those advantageous from a cultural or environmental point of view, as well as for regional development projects. The Commission therefore approved:
- Poland: €240 million aid for protection and security works in the heritage salt mines of Wieliczka and Bochnia, near Cracow. Rock salt deposits were extracted from the Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines from the 13th to the end of the 20th century. Afterwards, parts of the mines were adapted for public visits and today, “touristic paths”. The income from the tourist activities is not sufficient to cover the costs to preserve these heritage sites. They are part of national heritage (the Wieliczka mine is on the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites). State funding is provided for reinforcing some rock formations and preventing the inflow of water. The Commission concluded that the works concerned by the aid were technically indispensable to preserve the sites and that the aid was limited to the minimum necessary to carry out these works.
- Romania: €80.68 million for a Romanian scheme to support the development of the film industry, culture and cinematographic education. This involves providing interest-free loans or non-reimbursable grants for the production of Romanian films or films made with Romanian participation until 31 December 2014. The measure allows producers to spend up to 20% of the film budget within the European Economic Area (EEA). The Commission concluded that this aid promotes cultural objectives without unduly distorting competition.
- Sweden: €24 million in aid from Sweden to the Gothenburg Biofuels Gasification (GoBiGas) research and development (R&D) project for a pre-commercial demonstration plant for indirect gasification of low-quality forest raw material into bio-methane. The project was notified in June and will be managed by Göteborg Energi AB, a Swedish energy company. It will be implemented by its subsidiary, GoBiGas AB, based on an existing support scheme approved by the Commission in 2008 for a period of ten years and its costs are estimated at a total of €105 million. The Commission has concluded that the project is compatible because the research project could not attract sufficient financing from the financial market. Moreover, the project will generate important external effects in the EU in terms of knowledge spill-overs, environmental protection and security of energy supply. The benefits outweigh potential distortions of competition brought about by the aid.
- Germany: €15.5 million of regional investment aid for the German company Sovello AG for the production of solar modules in Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Sachsen-Anhalt), Germany. The project involves an investment of €147 million and is expected to create at least 320 new jobs in a region with an abnormally high unemployment level. Germany limited the aid amount to the maximum allowable under EU state aid rules, taking account of aid granted to a previous investment project by Sovello. The Commission verified that the notified aid is fully in line with the Regional Aid Guidelines, in particular with their thresholds regarding the market share and production capacity of beneficiaries of aid for large regional investment projects and that Sovello's market shares on the world market for solar modules are well below authorised thresholds. The Commission therefore concluded that the positive impact of the investment on regional development outweighs the potential distortions of competition
- Netherlands: €5 million investment aid for Bio Supply CV, a member of the OCAP (Organic CO2 for the Assimilation of Plants) group. The aid supports the construction of a pipeline infrastructure to transport waste CO2 from a bioethanol plant of Abengoa Bioenergy Netherlands in the harbour area of Rotterdam to greenhouses in Zuidplaspolder, within an area of around 550 hectares. The measure helps increase crop yield and will allow a saving of around 25 million m³ of natural gas wastefully burned every year, thus avoiding annual CO2emissions of 45,000 tonnes. The Commission states that this aid is justified because it clearly contributes to EU environmental objectives and is necessary since the project is unlikely to be undertaken without the aid, given the investment and exploitation risks involved. The aid is not expected to give rise to an undue distortion of competition or adverse effect on trade between member states in light of the local nature of the relevant markets. (F.G./transl.fl)