No L 323/34 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 82 COMMISSION DECISION of 22 July 1982 on a Belgian Government aid scheme concerning the expansion of the production capacity of an undertaking manufacturing mineral water and soft drinks (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (82/775/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first para- graph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having given notice to the parties concerned to submit their comments as provided for in the said Article 93, and having regard to those comments, Whereas : The Belgian Law of 17 July 1959, implemented by the Royal Decree of 17 August 1959 (), introduced aid to the Belgian economy designed in particular to facili- tate investment by the recipients of such aid; the aid - in question consists of certain interest rebates, State guarantees and exemption for up to five years from the tax on real property. Examining the Belgian Law pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 93 (1) and (2) of the EEC Treaty, the Commission found that it constitutes a general aid scheme having no sectoral or regional objectives ; the aid for which it provides is applicable to investments by any undertaking in any area or industry ; therefore, the aid could not qualify for exemption under Article 92 (3) (a) and (c) of the EEC Treaty ; in the absence of such specific sectoral or regional references, the Commission could not assess the effects of the general aids on trade between Member States or on competi- tion and was, therefore, unable to form an opinion as to its compatibility with the common market. It is now the well-established policy of the Commis- sion to accept such general aid schemes subject to one of two conditions, namely that the Member State concerned informs the Commission of either a regional or sectoral plan of application or, where this is felt not to be possible, that it notifies significant individual cases of application. Commission Decision 75/397/EEC (%) required the Belgian Government to notify the Commission in (") Moniteur belge, 29 August 1959. () OJ No L 177, 8. 7. 1975, p. 13. advance and in sufficient time of significant cases of application of the Belgian Law of 17 July 1959 so as to enable the Commission to decide on the compatibi- lity of the proposed aids with the common market. I By letters dated 13 April and 30 June 1981, the Belgian Government informed the Commission of its intention to grant aid under the abovementioned Law for investment by an undertaking producing mineral water and soft drinks. The investments eligible for the abovementioned aid amount to Bfrs 806 miilion ; such investments essenti- ally consist of the expansion of production capacity and of storage and dispatching facilities, which will enable the recipient undertaking tc increase its turnover appreciably in the future; this increase will enable the undertaking to create 10 new jobs. The aid would take the form of an interest rebate and tax relief and would amount to approximately 7-5 % net grant equivalent of the total investment. The manufacturer in question markets its products both in Belgium and in other Member States. 111 The mineral water and soft drinks industry in the European Community has, in the last 10 years, enjoyed a constant increase in the quantities produced ; consumption of such beverages has risen steadily, albeit subject to seasonal variations ; the pros- pects for the future in the two industries are good, although there is some excess production capacity in the soft drinks industry. The trend in the production and sale of these products in Belgium during the same reference period has been similar to that in the rest of the Community ; in parti- cular, there has been a 53 % increase in the Belgian production of mineral water in the last five years; exports to other Member States more than doubled during the same period and, in particular, imports of mineral water from other Member States fell.