Brussels, 19/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has decided not to embark on a formal investigation of a raft of measures notified by the Czech government on Investicni a postovni banka a.s. (IPB) Ceskoslovennska obchodni banka a.s. (CSOB), on the grounds that they are not applicable after accession.
From 1994 to 1998, difficulties in the Czech banking sector led the government to take a number of measures to safeguard and restructure several banks with a view to their privatisation. These measures were notified under the transition regime provided in the Accession Act. This authorises the Commission to examine whether these measures implemented by the new Member States before their accession constitute State aid, when they could produce extra advantages for businesses which could not be anticipated, or whether the risk for the State is not determined with precision at the point of accession. Only measures which are considered to be applicable after accession can be investigated. In this specific case, the measures to the benefit of IPB/CSOB could not increase the risk for the Czech State after accession. The criteria used by the Commission show that measures referred to events prior to accession, that they cannot commit the State beyond the financial framework laid down, that their objective is clearly specified and that they could only be actioned during a given period.