Brussels, 20/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 December, the European Commission decided to refer Italy to the Court of Justice (CoJ) for not complying with a Commission decision of October 2009 finding that Ixfin S.p.A., a company active in the sector of contract manufacturing, call centres and logistics, had received unlawful state aid and needed to repay it. To date, Italy has not recovered the aid from Ixfin, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since 2006.
In 2009, the Commission concluded that a loan guarantee granted by Italy to Ixfin was incompatible with EU rules, as it was not followed by a restructuring plan demonstrating the company's return to viability. The guarantee involved €15 million in state subsidies, as Ixfin could not have obtained a guarantee from the market on conditions comparable to those granted by the Italian government. That is the amount Italy was expected to recover or to register in the bankruptcy proceedings within four months of the adoption of the decision, together with the recovery of interests calculated until the date on which Ixfin was declared bankrupt.
In March 2007, Italy took the matter to the national court with a view to converting the bankruptcy into Court-controlled proceedings (“Amministrazione Straordinaria”) that would allow Ixfin to continue in business with the possibility that, not only would the unlawful aid not be recovered, but the firm could yet get further aid. (OL/transl./fl)