25.11.98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 316/55 COMMISSION DECISION of 1 July 1998 on State aid granted by the Republic of Austria and the Land of Upper Austria to Actual Maschinenbau AG (notified under document number C(1998) 1943) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (98/668/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 93(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement establishing the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1) thereof, Having given the parties concerned the opportunity to submit their comments in accordance with the abovementioned Article 93, Whereas: By letter dated 12 August 1996 the Austrian authorities informed the Commission that they intended to grant restructuring aid to Actual Maschinenbau AG, a machine tool manufacturer. On the basis of Commission Recommendation 96/280/EC of 3 April 1996 concerning the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises(!), Actual Maschinenbau is to be considered a large firm. Its registered office is in Ansfelden, which is not in an assisted area. It is active in the manufacture of machine tools. On 25 October 1996 the Austrian authorities notified the Commission of a proposal to grant the firm R&D aid as well. By letter dated 17 December 1996 Austria withdrew both notifications and informed the Commission that the Republic of Austria and the Land of Upper Austria wished to grant rescue aid in the form of a rescue loan worth ATS 15 million (ECU 1,1 million), over six months and at an interest rate of 6,8 %. The legal bases for the aid were Section 35a of the Arbeitsmarktfor- derungsgesetz (Labour Market Promotion Act) and the Allgemeine  Forderrichtlinien  (General Development Guidelines) of the Land of Upper Austria. On 5 February 1997 the Commission decided not to raise any objections to the planned rescue aid. The Austrian authorities were informed of this by letter dated 25 February 1997, reference SG(97) D/1422. (Y) OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4. By letter dated 18 July 1997 the Austrian authorities notified an extension of the rescue aid until 31 October 1997, indicating that, before a final restructuring plan could be drawn up, a number of important decisions had to be taken concerning, among other things, a transfer of shares in the firm’s Hungarian subsidiary and a composition arrangement with the present owners. Settlement of both matters was said to be crucial to the firm remaining in business. On 16 September 1997 the Commission decided to initiate proceedings pursuant to Article 93(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the extension of the rescue aid until the end of October of that year, this being tantamount to a second rescue aid measure. It took the view that the extension of the rescue loan might merely maintain the status quo and transfer the problems associated with structural change to other, more efficient firms. It was doubtful, therefore, whether an extension of the rescue aid could be considered compatible with the common market. The Austrain authorities were informed of this by letter dated 2 October 1997, reference SG(97) D/8079. They submitted their comments by letter dated 10 November 1997, in which they acknowledged that the new rescue aid had been granted before the Commission had stated its position on the matter. They declared that they had taken preliminary steps to recover outstanding debts. The Commission observed in a letter dated 21 November 1997 that repayment of the loan had clearly not yet been ordered and that it assumed that the Austrian authorities would inform it in due course once this was done, furnishing supporting evidence. The Austrian authorities confirmed by fax on 10 June 1998 that the same terms applied to the extended rescue loan as to the authorised loan, adding, however, that so far the firm had neither paid any interest nor repaid the loan. A Commission notice concerning the decision to initiate proceedings and inviting other interested parties to submit comments was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities(?). No comments were received. (%) OJ C 390, 23.12.1997, p. 11.