No L 253/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 14. 9. 83 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 27 April 1983 under Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty, on a proposal to grant aid to an undertaking in the textile and clothing sector (undertaking No 111) (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (83/468/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having invited comments from interested parties as required by that Article, | Whereas : I By letter dated 17 September 1982 the Belgian Government notified the Commission of its intention to award aid to an undertaking in the carpet industry, a sector considered to be ‘highly competitive’ in Belgium. The undertaking, which employs 256 people, would use the aid, from the Belgian textile and clothing sector aid scheme, to raise its output by 4,3 %. Some 57,8 % of its output was exported to other Member States in 1982 and 14,6 % to countries outside the Community. The aid, totalling Bfrs 158,7 million, would mainly be spent on investment in replacement machinery and the purchase of new plant, expenditure which under normal circumstances the firm would have to meet itself. On 20 December 1982 the Commission initiated the procedure provided for under the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty in respect of the proposed aid, on the ground that it would affect trade between Member States to an extent contrary to the common interest and would therefore be incompatible with the common market. The Commission also believed that the aid did not satisfy the conditions laid down in the Belgian textile and clothing industry aid scheme, which the Commis- sion had approved on 18 November 1981 and which had been in effect in Belgium since 1 January 1982. 11 Replying to ‘the opening of the Article 93 procedure for the first time on 28 January 1983, the Belgian Government failed to adduce any new evidence or arguments which might have led the Commission to revise its initial finding. In a further letter dated 23 March 1983, the Govern- ment said it was prepared to reduce the aid by about Bfrs 40 million and the undertaking to cut its produc- tion capacity by 18 % over 18 months. This proposal would still have left the undertaking with the bulk of the aid, some Bfrs 118 million, and would not have altered the fact that it was to be used for investment, such as building alterations, purchase of boilers and materials handling systems, and im- provements in production processes, which is normally paid for by the firm concerned and cannot be described as restructuring expenditure.