94/220/EC: Commission Decision of 26 January 1994 requiring France to suspend the payment to Groupe Bull of aid granted in breach of Article 93 (3) of the EC Treaty (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 28 April 1994
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 107, 28 aprile 1994,Diario Oficial de las Comunidades Europeas, L 107, 28 de abril de 1994,Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 107, 28 avril 1994

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94/220/EC: Commission Decision of 26 January 1994 requiring France to suspend the payment to Groupe Bull of aid granted in breach of Article 93 (3) of the EC Treaty (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 107 , 28/04/1994 P. 0061 - 0062

COMMISSION DECISION of 26 January 1994 requiring France to suspend the payment to Groupe Bull of aid granted in breach of Article 93 (3) of the EC Treaty (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (94/220/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 93 (2) and (3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In a letter dated 6 December 1993, the French authorities informed the Commission that they intended to proceed with a further recapitalization of Groupe Bull ('Bull'), amounting to FF 8,6 billion of which FF 7 billion would be subscribed to by the French State and the remainder by France Télécom.

The letter also stated that, of this total amount FF 4,5 billion would be paid by the French State in respect of Bull's 1993 financial year. The French authorities have indicated to the Commissioner responsible for competition policy that the French State has already made this payment, a fact subsequently confirmed by the French Permanent Representation. Moreover, it is understood that the capital injection from France Télécom, amounting to FF 1,6 billion, has also been paid.

These payments were made in breach of Article 93 (3) of the EC Treaty and, taking account of the fact that the Commission has not already taken a decision on these aids, must therefore be deemed to be unlawful.

(2) By letter dated 8 December 1993, the Commission asked the French Government to delay making the capital injections until it could take a decision in respect thereof, in addition, this letter requested full details of Bull's plans for restructuring.

On 17 December 1993, the Commission wrote a further letter to the French authorities stating, in connection with the amount of the capital injections not paid for 1993, that it required full details regarding the capital injections; it enclosed a list of points to this effect.

In addition, the letter stated that, if a reply setting out the requested data had not been received within 15 working days, the Commission would be obliged to initiate the Article 93 (2) procedure and take a...