18. 10. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 285/17 COMMISSION DECISION of 20 July 1983 under Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty, on a proposal of the Belgian Government to aid an undertaking (No 118) in the textile and clothing industry (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (83/508/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, in accordance with the above- mentioned provision, to the parties concerned to submit their comments and having regard to those comments, Whereas : By letter dated 6 December 1982 the Belgian Govern- ment informed the Commission of a plan to aid a firm - manufacturing towelling, a sector of the Belgian textile and clothing industry .that is regarded as highly competitive. The aid of Bfrs 100 800 000, towards an investment of Bfrs 144 million, was to be awarded by the Belgian Government under the textile and clothing industry aid scheme to a firm employing a staff of 178. The investment would improve the firm’s production plant and restore its output to an earlier level and would partly involve investment in new plant and machinery, some of it replacement investment. The Commission opened the procedure provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty in respect of the plan and, by letter dated 28 January 1983, gave the Belgian Government notice to submit its comments. I Pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty, the Belgian Government replied to the letter of formal notice in a letter dated 10 March 1983, in which it gave further details of the restruc- turing involved in the project. It stated that Bfrs 93 million of the Bfrs 144 million-worth of investment was for rehousing office staff and management follow- ing the expropriation of the firm’s present offices and that the firm was taking the opportunity presented by the move to undertake a major programme to clean up some of the more polluting parts of its production processes by purchasing new dyeing and finishing machines and an advanced effluent purification system. The remaining Bfrs 51 million was for pur- chasing replacement machinery to modernize produc- tion, a type of investment that would normally be borne by the individual firm concerned. The four Member States and two trade associations that replied to the Commission’s invitation to comment pursuant to Article 93 (2) supported the view the Commission had formed of the plan. One Member State pointed out that the firms in the towelling sector of its textile industry had recently carried out a major restructuring operation unaided. Another Member State noted that 50 % of its intra-Community imports of towelling material came from Belgium and that in 1982 the volume of such imports had risen. III The proposed aid award is liable to affect trade between Member States and to distort competition within the meaning of Article 92 (1) of the EEC Treaty by favouring the firm in question or production of its type of goods. Article 92 (1) lays down the general principle that aid having the features there described is incompatible with the common market. The exceptions from this principle defined in Article 92 (3) specify objectives in the Community interest transcending the interests of the aid recipeient. These exceptions must be construed strictly when any regional or industry aid scheme or - any individual award under a general aid scheme is