L 366/40 Official Journal of the European Union 21.12.2006 COMMISSION DECISION of 19 July 2006 on the aid measure notified by the Netherlands for KG Holding NV (notified under document number C(2006) 2954) (Only the Dutch version is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006/939/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (!) and having regard to their comments, Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 26 January 2004, registered as received on 11 February 2004, the Dutch authorities notified the Commission that they intended to grant restructuring aid under the Community guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (hereinafter ‘the guidelines’) (%) to KG Holding NV (hereinafter ‘Kliq Holding’ or ‘KH). Following this notification, the Commission asked the Netherlands to provide further information in April, August and November 2004. In December 2004, the Dutch authorities requested an extension of the deadline for providing a reply, explaining that the firm was still not performing well and that another firm was possibly interested in a takeover. (2) By letter dated 5 August 2005, the Commission informed the Netherlands that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the notified measure. (3) The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (?). () O] C 280, 12.11.2005, p. 2. () OJ C 288, 9.10.1999, p. 2. Given that the aid was notified before 10 October 2004, these guidelines remain applicable by virtue of point 103 of the new Community guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty (O] C 244, 1.10.2004, p- 2). (%) See footnote 1. The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. (4) By letter dated 7 September 2005, the Dutch authorities requested an extension of the deadline for submitting their comments on the Commission’s decision to initiate proceedings, which the Commission granted by letter dated 15 September 2005. (5) The Netherlands submitted its comments and provided additional information by letters dated 29 September 2005, registered as received on 30 September 2005; 13 January 2006, registered as received on 18 January 2006; and 17 February 2006, registered as received on 23 February 2006. (6) The Commission received no comments from interested parties. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID 2.1. Background (7) In 2002, KH was created through the transformation of the reintegration services of the Dutch Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs into a private limited liability com- pany (). By late 2003, KH had significantly reduced its headcount because of mounting losses due inter alia to adverse market conditions and poor management. (8) In November 2003, the Netherlands notified its plan to grant the company a EUR 45 million loan as rescue aid under the guidelines to enable the company to stay afloat whilst preparing a wide-ranging restructuring plan. In December 2003, the Commission authorised the rescue aid for KH (°) pending the notification of a detailed restructur- ing plan within six months. (% Upon incorporation the company’s name was N.V. Klig, and in the second half of 2003 it was changed to KG Holding NV. () 0] C 33, 6.2.2004, p. 8.