No L 312/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 11. 82 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 22 July 1982 on the designation of development areas pursuant to Article 11 of the Belgian Law of 30 December 1970 (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (82/740/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having given notice (') to the parties concerned to submit their comments, in accordance with Article 93, and having regard to those comments, Whereas : By letter dated 14 November 1980, the Belgian Government notified in accordance with Article 93 (3) of the EEC Treaty, a plan showing the designated development areas in which it intends to apply the regional aid measures provided for in the Economic Expansion Law of 30 December 1970, consisting largely of interest subsidies, capital grants, State guarantees and tax reliefs for industrial firms and firms in the service sector. The Belgian Government notified the plan with the intention of complying with its obligation under Article 2 of Commission Decision 72/173/EEC of 26 Aptii 1972 on the aid granted under the Belgian Economic Expansion Law of 30 December 1970 (%) The first paragraph of that Article requires greater selectivity in the geographical scope of regional aid and provides that the plan must specify those areas which lose development status and those which do not. The second paragraph of that Article provides that the development areas must be classified in two cate- () OJ No C 316, 4. 12. 1981, p. 4. (3 O] No L 105, 4. 5. 1972, p. 13. gories according to the severity of the problems facing the regions concerned and that the maximum aid intensity must be differentiated as between those two categories. The plan notified provides for the granting of regional aid throughout almost the entire territory of Belgium, the proposed development areas being located in each of the nine provinces and in 40 of the country’s 43 ‘arrondissements’ (administrative districts), accounting for more than 80 % of the population. While only parts of many of these ‘arrondissements’ are designated as development areas, these areas still cover 55 % of the population. A single aid intensity ceiling is adopted for all the areas proposed. The Belgian authorities used fundamentally different methods for selecting assisted areas in Flanders and in Wallonia. On 5 December 1980 the Commission asked for further information within one month. By telex dated 22 December 1980, the Belgian Government requested that this deadline be extended until 8 February 1981, to which the Commission agreed by telex dated 13 January 1981. No further information was received thereafter from the Belgian Government. The Commission was consequently obliged to make its first scrutiny of the plan on the basis of the infor- mation in its possession. II The plan, notified more than six years after the appointed date, does not meet the requirements of Article 2 of Commission Decision 72/173/EEC which stipulates greater selectivity in the geographical scope of the regional aid and a classification of the develop- ment areas into two categories according to the severity of the problems facing the regions concerned.