On Monday 12 March, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation concerning public aid measures granted by the Romanian state to the energy producer Complexful Energetic Hunedoara (CE Hunedoara), amid concerns that the measures are incompatible with EU rules.
On 21 April 2015, the European Commission gave its approval to a Romanian rescue measure worth €37.7 million in favour of CE Hunedoara, to support the company through financial difficulties. In return, the Romanian authorities undertook to ensure that the company implemented a restructuring plan to ensure its economic viability, should it be unable to repay the aid in question.
The day before, the institution ordered Romania to recover €6 million from CE Hunedoara, corresponding to the level of unlawful State aid.
Today, the Commission has doubts that the restructuring plan referred to above will allow the company to return to long-term viability, which was a condition for the State aid to be granted. The institution notes that CE Hunedoara was under insolvency proceedings in 2016, which are currently on ice; at the time, its debt was in excess of €500 million.
Furthermore, no provision has been made for the company to participate in the restructuring costs or for measures to be implemented in order to limit the competition distortions that may be brought about by the public support, although such conditions are generally necessary for state aid to comply EU law.
The Commission has therefore in decided to open in-depth investigation, following which it will determine whether or not the aid measure is in line with EU law. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)