L91/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 6.4.2002 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 28 November 2001 which Germany implemented in favour of the steel company for Georgsmarienhiitte Holding GmbH (notified under document number C(2001) 3734) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/259/EC, ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(1) thereof, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in particular Article 4(c) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof read in conjunc- tion with protocol 14, Having regard to Commission Decision No 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996 establishing Community rules for State aid to the steel industry (%), Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (%), Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 23 July 1999, Germany informed the Commission that a management service contract was concluded between the German public authority ‘Bundesanstalt fiir vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben’ 338, 28.12.1996, p. 42. 3, 6.1.2001, p. 31. (hereafter: BvS), the company Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH and its subsidiaries and Georgsmarienhiitte Holding GmbH. (2) By letter dated 29 July 2000, the Commission informed Germany that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 6(5) of Commission Decision No 2496/96/ECSC (here- inafter referred to as the Steel Aid Code) in respect of the aforementioned measure. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. (3)  The Commission received no comments from third parties. (4) On 11 October 2000, 6 February 2001, 6 June 2001 and 22 August 2001 Germany responded to the opening of procedure and to letters of the Commission of 11 December 2000, 12 April 2001 and 14 July 2001. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE (5)  Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH and its subsidiaries (¥ (hereafter: Groditzer) are located in Saxony. Since 1990 Groditzer has been owned by the Treuhandanstalt (THA) and its public successors, respectively EREL Verwaltungs GmbH und Co. Management KG (EREL), Beteiligungs- Management-Gesellschaft mbH (BMGB) and lastly the BvS. () See footnote 2. (*) On 20 April 1999 Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH sold its assets and liabilities — and thus its economic operations — to the newly created Edelstahl Groditz GmbH and  Stahlwerk Groditz GmbH which are subsidiaries of Stahl Groditz Holding GmbH. The sole shareholder of Stahl Groditz Holding GmbH is BvS. In the mean- time Stahl Groditz GmbH sold the shares in these two subsidiaries to Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH.