Brussels, 23/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Court of Justice delivered two judgements on Thursday 22 November on state aid given to two synthetic textile producers which had accused each other of benefiting from illegal state aid. At the conclusion of two separate and complex proceedings, the Court ruled on both cases on the same day: the Spanish aid was in fact illegal, whereas the Austrian aid was authorised. Spanish company Sniace SA produces and sells a range of artificial and synthetic fibres, including cellulose and viscose. Lenzing Lyocell GmbH & Co. KG produces and sells lyocell, a new type of fibre produced using pure natural cellulose, the market for which overlaps with that of viscose. Sniace attacked the Commission decision in 2001 to authorise aid to Lenzing that was declared by the Austrian authorities. But the Court of First Instance and subsequently the Court of Justice, in its decision on Thursday, said that Sniace had not provided sufficient evidence of the harmful effect of this aid, which was therefore authorised (case C-260/05 P). By contrast, the Court accepted the case brought by Lenzing against the Spanish aid (C-525/04 P), as it is supported by a Commission analysis which adequately demonstrates the negative impact of the Spanish aid on competition. The aid was designed to help Sniace recover from insolvency. (C.D.)