No L 342/32 Official Journal of Wthe European Communities 5. 12. 86 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1986 on a proposal by the Belgian Government to grant aid for mvestmenm by a flat-glass producer at Auvelals (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (86/593/EEC) . THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first subpara- graph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having given notice in accordance with the above Article to interested parties to submit their comments, and having regard to those comments, Whereas : I The Belgian Law of 17 July 1959 introducing and coordi- nating measures to encourage economic expansion and the creation of new industries, and the royal decree of 17 August 1959 (') implementing it, introduced general measures to assist the Belgian economy in the form, snter alia, of interest rebates on loans raised to pay for invest- ments, government guarantees covering loans contracted by enterprises with banks giving entitlement to a rebate, and exemption for five years from land tax. When it examined the Law in accordance with the proce- dure laid down in Article 93 (1) and (2) of the EEC Treaty, the Commission found that it constituted a general aid scheme as it contained no sectoral or regional objectives. Since the scheme applied to all investments, making no distinction between enterprises, regions or sectors, it could not qualify for application of any of the exceptions provided for in Article 92 (3) (a) or (c) of the EEC Treaty: Without such detailed information, the Commission was (") Moniteur belge, 29. 8. 1959. unable to assess the scheme’s effects on trade between Member States and on competition, or, more especially, its compatibility with the common market. The Commission has decided to authorize such general aid schemes where one or other of the following two conditions is met: either the Member State concerned notifies to the Commission a plan for regional or sectoral application, or alternatively, where this is not considered feasible, it notifies significant individual awards. Under Commission Decision 75/397/EEC (3), the Belgian Government is required to notify the Commission, giving it time to state its view in advance, of all significant indi- vidual awards under the Law of 17 July 1959, introducing and coordinating the measures to encourage economic expansion and the creation of new industries, so that the Commission may decide whether they are compatible with the common market. s I By letters dated 5 April and 25 July 1984, the Belgian Government informed the Commission, in accordance with that procedure, of its intention to grant, under the Law of 17 July 1959, aid towards investments by a flat- . glass producer at Auvelais, in the province of Namur. The investments relate to the renovation of two float-glass production lines aimed .at improving energy use and incorporating technical developments without any increase in optimum capacity. Their total amount is esti- mated at 2 043,8 million Belgian francs. They include the complete rebuilding of the furnaces, modernization of the rest of the two production lines, and investments to increase cold-glass productivity. () OJ No L 177, 8. 7. 1975, p. 13. ,