L 105/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 20.4.2002 COMMISSION DECISION of 19 September 2001 on the State aid which the Netherlands is planning to implement in the form of development assistance for a high-technology dredger for the Republic of Djibouti (notified under document number C(2001) 2900) (Only the Dutch text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/284[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 regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1540/98 of 29 June 1998 establishing new rules on aid to shipbuilding (}), Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (%), and in particular Article 7 thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above and having regard to their comments (%), Whereas: I. Procedure (1) By letter dated 12 April 2000, the Dutch authorities, acting pursuant to Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty, notified the Commission of development assistance which they intended to grant to the Republic of Djibouti for the purchase of a dredger of more than 365 KW to be built by the Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem. (2) By letter dated 13 February 2001, the Commission notified the Dutch authorities that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the aid. The Dutch authorities submitted their comments to the Commission by letter dated 21 February 2001. () OJ L 202, 18.7.1998, p. 1. () OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. () 0] C 172, 16.6.2001, p. 12. (3)  The Commission's decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (*). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments. (4 The Commission did not receive any comments from interested parties. II. Detailed description of the aid (5)  The project, which provides for development assistance under a general scheme for aid to developing countries, concerns a transaction involving the dredger and three other vessels for a total amount of NLG 11,664 million (EUR 5,293 million). Provision has been made for aid totalling NLG 3,447 million (EUR 1,464 million). Only the dredger falls within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1540/98. The cost price is NLG 9,564 million (EUR 4,340 million) and the aid earmarked amounts to NLG 2,392 million (EUR 1,085 million), or 25% of the contract price. The recipient is the autonomous port of Djibouti. (6)  The Commission decided to initiate the Article 88(2) procedure because it doubted whether the project complied fully with the conditions laid down in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1540/98 concerning the compatibility of aid related to shipbuilding granted as development assistance. (7)  New provisions have been incorporated into Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1540/98 in cases where aid for shipbuilding is granted in the form of development assistance to a developing country. The Article states that such aid may be deemed compatible with the common market if it complies with the terms laid down for that purpose by OECD Working Party 6 in its Agreement concerning the interpretation of Articles 6 to 8 of the OECD Understanding on export credits for ships. The Commission must verify the particular () 0] C 172, 16.6.2001, p. 12.