Brussels, 22/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Commission decision made on Wednesday 22 July to authorise various support measures worth €251 million, spread over several years and extending into the future, in favour of the Gdansk Shipyard in Poland, concludes a lengthy saga that began with an in-depth investigation opened in June 2005. The owner of Gdansk Shipyard, Ukrainian industrial group (ISD), was privatised in 2007. The yard recently presented a restructuring plan that will to a large extent be financed from private resources raised by the yard and its owner. The Commission concluded that the plan will ensure the viability of the yard and that the distortions of competition, caused by years of subsidised operations, will be adequately reduced by production capacity closures. Recognising that this case has been one of the longest and most difficult cases she had had to deal with, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that she was very pleased that they had now found “a constructive solution for this exceptional place and the people working there. We have made a tremendous effort to make sure that the yard will be viable for many years to come. Genuine restructuring is the only way to secure stable jobs for the yard's workers."
Since 2002, Gdansk Shipyard has benefitted from various aid measures designed to keep it afloat. In November 2007, the yard was privatised and the new owner first attempted to merge shipyards in Gdansk and Gdynia. A plan for this common project was rejected by the Commission, in the context of its decision on state aid to Gdynia Shipyard of November 2008, mainly because it was not sufficient to ensure a return of the yards to long-term viability.
Subsequently, the owner of Gdansk Shipyard, Ukrainian industrial group (ISD), submitted a stand-alone restructuring plan for this yard. The Commission is satisfied that the plan is in line with the requirements of its Guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid. In particular, the plan proposes a sustainable business strategy based on a diversification of the yard's activities and synergies with other companies in the same group.
Commission decision made on Wednesday, authorises state aid granted to Gdansk Shipyard since 2004 when Poland entered the EU (€94 million) as well as a further €35 million of aid still planned to finance the yard's restructuring. The decision also authorises production guarantees from the Polish Export Credit Insurance Corporation of a nominal value of €122 million (€80 million already received and €42 million planned in the period 2009-2012). The decision does not however cover the state aid received by the yard prior to Poland's accession to the EU: between 2002 and 2004, the yard received a further €36 million (which falls outside the scope of today's decision).
As the continuous subsidies for the yard's production since 2002 caused a significant distortion of competition on the shipbuilding market, the yard's shipbuilding capacity has to be reduced substantially. According to the restructuring plan, the yard will close two out of the three existing slipways. The yard has made a commitment to operate with a single slipway or alternative launching facility, with a maximum production of 100 000 compensated gross tonnage (CGT) annually.