L 44/36 Official Journal of the European Union 20.2.2008 COMMISSION DECISION of 25 September 2007 on State aid C 32/2006 (ex N 179/2006) implemented by Poland for Huta Cynku Miasteczko Slaskie SA (notified under document number C(2007) 4310) (Only the Polish version is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2008/142[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments (') pursuant to the provisions cited above and having regard to their comments, Whereas: [. PROCEDURE (1) On 17 March 2006, Poland notified restructuring aid for Huta Cynku Miasteczko Slaskie SA (hereinafter ‘HCM). This notification took place following a Commission decision raising no objections regarding rescue aid to HCM in the form of a guarantee for a loan of PLN 11,8 million (EUR 3,12 million (?)). (20 On 19 July 2006, the Commission decided to initiate a procedure under Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the notified aid because of doubts about its compa- tibility with the common market. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 August 2006 (}). The Commission invited interested parties to submit comments on the measures. No such third party comments were submitted. (3)  On 18 September 2006, Poland submitted an incomplete response concerning the initiation of the procedure. By () O] C 207, 30.8.2006, p. 5. (3 All amounts provided by the Polish authorities in Polish zloty (PLN) have been converted into Euro (EUR) by using the exchange rate of 22 June 2007 of EUR 1 = PLN 3,7865. () See footnote 1. letter dated 23 May 2007, Poland informed the Commission that it was withdrawing the notification. II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID 1. Beneficiary of the aid HCM is a state-owned company created in 1966. It is active in the market for the production and metallurgical processing of non-ferrous metals (production of zinc and lead). In 2004 the company had a 51 % share of the Polish refined zinc market and a 3 % share of the European market. It has about 1 100 employees and is based in a region eligible for regional aid under Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty. 2. Aid measures The Polish authorities notified the Commission that Agencja Rozwoju Przemystu SA (Industrial Development Agency SA, hereinafter ‘ARP’) intended to provide a loan of PLN 21,8 million (EUR 5,76 million) for a period of five years. Reimbursement was to start one year after the date on which the loan was granted. The loan was to be based on a variable interest rate equal to the Commission’s reference rate. PLN 10 million (EUR 2,64 million) was to be spent on investment related to tech- nological restructuring. The remaining PLN 11,8 million (EUR 3,11 million) was to be used to finance reimbur- sement of the rescue loan, i.e. the loan for which ARP had provided a guarantee. Poland also informed the Commission of a planned composition agreement to be signed with creditors enabling the company to regain solvency. To this end, the creditors, who had claims on HCM worth PLN 65,3 million (EUR 15,9 million), were divided according to the size of the amounts due and the security held. The composition agreement essentially provides for deferral of the repayment of private and public debts for several years. To this end, different groups were formed according to the security held. The debt was deferred for a specific period for each group. 3. Grounds for initiating the procedure The loan was notified by the Polish authorities as state aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.