4.9.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 235/13 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 25 April 2001 on the State aid which Austria is planning to implement in favour of Voest Alpine Stahl Linz GmbH (notified under document number C(2001) 1130) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2001/669/ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 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: I. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 15 April 1999 Austria notified the Commission of aid for environmental protection to Voest Alpine Stahl Linz GmbH concerning an extension of its wastewater treatment installations. (2) By letter dated 17 May 2000 the Commission informed Austria that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 6(5) of Decision No 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996 establishing Community rules for State aid to the steel industry (hereinafter referred to as the ‘steel aid code’), in respect of the aid. (3)  The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communi- 0] L 338, 28.12.1996, p. 42. () O] C 190, 8.7.2000, p. 9. ties (*).The Commission called on interested parties to submit their comments. (4 The Commission has received no comments from inter- ested parties. Austria presented its comments by letter dated 20 June 2000 and a change to its initial noti- fication, reducing the aid to 15 % of the eligible invest- ment costs, by letter dated 28 February 2001. II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID (5)  Voest Alpine Stahl Linz GmbH is an integrated steel company producing crude steel and hot- rolled sheets. It operates a hot rolling mill with an annual production of 3 to 3,7 million tonnes. The rolling mill comprises a reheating furnace and a strip-cooling installation. The entire rolling process involves the use of water, which the company gets from the Danube. This water is contaminated with solids and machine oil before it is discharged back into the river. (6)  On 27 November 1998 new standards for pollution in wastewater by steel companies entered into force in Austria. Existing installations such as those of Voest Alpine Stahl Linz GmbH qualified for a transition period of seven years, ie. until 27 November 2005. The company decided, however, to bring its installations into line with the new standards before the deadline. In 1997 it applied to the Austrian authorities for aid with a view to a significant extension of its water purification system in 1997 and 1998. () See footnote 2.