27. 8. 96 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 216/11 COMMISSION DECISION of 27 March 1996 concerning aid granted by Italy to Altiforni e Ferriere di Servola, an ECSC company in special administration, located in Trieste, Italy (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/515/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 Commission Decision No 3855/91/ ECSC of 27 November 1991 establishing Community rules for aid to the steel industry (*), Having given notice, pursuant to Article 6 (4) of the abovementioned Decision, to other Member States and interested parties to submit their comments and having regard to those comments, Whereas: FACTS AND PROCEDURE Following a complaint lodged by one of the firm’s competitors, the Commission, by letters dated 28 February and 13 July 1994, asked the Italian Government for information regarding aid allegedly received by the steel undertaking Altiforni e Ferriere di Servola (here- inafter referred to as ‘AFS). By letters dated 17 March and 4 August 1994 from the Minister for Industry, Trade and Craft Trades, the Italian Government, while stating that no aid was granted to AFS, acknowledged that a State guarantee had been granted under Article 2a of Italian Law No 95/1979 to AFS for loans granted to it by a number of banks. On the basis of the information at its disposal, including that provided by the Italian Government, the Commis- sion ascertained that: (i) AFS had accumulated debts more than five times the size of its share capital. It was in so poor a financial situation that, having been declared insolvent by a national court, it was placed under the ‘special ad- () OJ No L 362, 21. 12. 1991, p. 57. ministration’ procedure (amministrazione straordi- naria) provided for in Italian Law No 95/1979; (ii) the State guarantee granted under Law No 95/1979 allowed AFS to secure funds in order to remain in business; (iii) credit granted to AFS and guaranteed by the Italian Government amounted to Lit 26,5 billion; (ivy AFS did not pay the Italian Government any premium or other consideration in exchange for the guarantee. In the light of the foregoing, the Commission informed the Italian authorities that it had serious doubts on the question whether, under normal market conditions, any credit would have been granted to AFS and whether a private institution would have given it a guarantee in view of its insolvency. The Commission pointed out that, in line with its practice and in the light of Court of Justice case-law, any State guarantee granted to a firm in diffi- culty which could not have been financed by private financial institutions or which was granted on more favourable conditions than those normally made in the financial market constitutes State aid, whether or not the guarantee has been activated. As it was difficult at that stage for the Commission to determine whether the aid was compatible with the common market, it decided on 23 November 1994 to initiate the procedure provided for in Article 6 (4) of Decision No 3855/91/ECSC in respect of the aid in ques- tion. It informed the Italian Government of its decision by letter dated 12 December 1994, asking the Italian authorities why they failed to fulfil their obligation to notify the aid. On 19 September 1995 the abovementioned letter was published in the Official Journal of the European Commaunities (%) in order to give the other Member States and interested parties the opportunity to submit their comments. () OJ No C 242, 19. 9. 1995, p. 4.