Brussels, 27/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission confirmed on Friday 27 June that it had received the restructuring plans for the Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin naval shipyards within the set deadline. These plans had to be submitted before midnight on 26 June, three years after the investigation was opened (see EUROPE 8959). They seek to allay the Commission's concerns over state aid worth more than €1 billion granted to the shipyards since Poland joined the EU in 2004, which could prove to be illegal.
In a press release, the Commission says that it would assess the plans submitted by the Polish Treasury Ministry to determine if they comply with European state aid rules, i.e. - they ensure the long-term profitability of the shipyards; - they include adequate compensatory measures to limit the distortion of competition caused by the aid; - they are financed to a large extent from the companies' own resources. Provisional plans submitted in June did not, official sources said, meet these criteria.
Warsaw said that the plans submitted on Thursday contained new provisions, which, the Poles hope will meet with the Commission's approval. Ukrainian investor, Donbass, which has already acquired a controlling stake in the Gdansk yard, is bidding to take control, too, of the Gdynia yard which is only 15 kilometres away. The Donbass investment will be made in collaboration with the Polish shipbuilder Polish Shipping Building Company, which is owned by Maritim Shipyard, also established under Polish law. Consideration has been given to concentrating capacity reduction in Gdynia for a certain time, thereby initially sparing the politically more sensitive Gdansk yard, the cradle of the SolidarnoϾ movement. The Commission said this week that it did not see any problem in principle with this approach as long as the overall capacity reduction was met. Polish manufacturer of steel constructions Mostostal Chojnice is interested in purchasing the Szczecin yard. The two offers (the first for Gdansk and Gdynia together, and the second for Szczecin), the Polish ministry says, provide for large-scale restructuring, which should calm Commission fears and obviate the need for repayment of aid. The Commission says that the time it takes to assess the matter will depend to a large extent on the nature of the proposal: if it is immediately clear that the proposed restructuring does not comply with European state aid rules, it will be in a position to reject it within a few weeks. If however, the file is fuller and more appropriate, the Commission analysis could take longer, said a spokesman for Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. (C.D./transl.rt)