Brussels, 10/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 May, the European Commission announced its intention to initiate proceedings before the Court of Justice in view of Italy's failure to comply with the Commission's decision of 25 November 1999 ordering Italy to recover illegal and incompatible state aid granted to companies in Venice and Chioggia. More than seven years after the Commission adopted this decision, Italy has only recovered about 1% of the total aid amount to be recovered, states a Commission press release. From 1995 to 1997, companies in the Italian towns of Venice and Chioggia benefited from a reduction in social security contributions for preserving jobs, according to national laws No 30/1997 and No 206/1995. The scheme, which was suspended in December 1997, was considered illegal by the Commission in 1999. Since then, however, out of the €44.2 million to be recovered, only €400,000 has been reimbursed. Several beneficiaries have appealed against the Commission's decision before the European Court of First Instance (CFI) and Italian courts have largely suspended the recovery of aid pending judgement (Affairs T-218/00 and following, pending before the CFI). However, this is incompatible with Article 242 of the EC Treaty which provides that appeals by beneficiaries against the Commission's 1999 recovery decisions before the CFI do not suspend the obligation to replay the illegal and incompatible aid. (cd)