Brussels, 26/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 January, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into two Spanish State aid measures in favour of the mining company Iberpotash.
In 2012, the Commission received a complaint alleging that Iberpotash benefited from several State aid measures aiming to support its mining activities. The first measure concerns the financial guarantees provided by the company to regional public bodies to fulfil its environmental protection obligations. The Commission will examine whether the level of this guarantee, initially set at €2 million, is significantly lower than that required by the environmental rules. The second measure is the full coverage of the cost to physically cover one of the company's waste heaps to reduce pollution. This cost €7.9 million. The Commission will consider whether this cost should have been met by Iberpotash, as the polluter.
The Commission also found that three other measures referred to in the complaint, such as a modernisation of drinking water treatment facilities financed by the authorities, did not give Iberpotash a selective advantage. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)