L 112[32 Official Journal of the European Union 30.4.2007 COMMISSION DECISION of 20 December 2006 on State aid No C 5/2006 (ex N 230/2005) which Germany is planning to implement for Rolandwerft (notified under document number C(2006) 5854) (Only the German version is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2007/255/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: L PROCEDURE (1) By letter of 19 October 2005, registered as received on the same day, Germany, acting in accordance with Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty and with the Framework on state aid to shipbuilding () (hereinafter the shipbuilding framework), notified its intention of granting regional aid to the company Detlef Hegemann Rolandwerft GmbH & Co. KG (Rolandwerft). The Commission requested further informa- tion by letter of 16 November 2005, to which Germany replied by letter of 23 December 2005, registered as received on the same day. By letter of 18 January 2006, registered as received on the same day, Germany modified the notified aid. (2) By letter of 22 February 2006, the Commission informed Germany of its decision to initiate in respect of the aid the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty. The Commission decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Commission invited Germany and the other interested parties to submit comments. By letter of 28 June 2006, registered as received on the same day, the ‘Verband fiir Schiffbau und Meerestechnik’ (German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association) submitted comments. By letter of 30 June 2006, registered as received on 7 July, the beneficiary also submitted comments. () OJ C 317, 30.12.2003, p. 11. (3) The comments were transmitted to Germany by letter of 17 July 2006. Germany replied to these comments by letter of 11 August 2006, addressed to the Commission and registered as received on the same day. (4) Germany’s response to the initiation of the formal investigation procedure was submitted by letter of 6 April 2006, registered as received on the same day. Annexes were submitted by letter of 11 April 2006, registered as received on 12 April. The Commission requested further informa- tion on 17 August 2006 which Germany submitted by letter of 14 September 2006, registered as received on 15 September. Germany submitted further information by letter of 20 November 2006, registered as received on the same day. A meeting with representatives of Germany and the shipyard took place on 22 November 2006. Following the meeting, Germany submitted further information by letter of 24 November 2006, registered as received on the same day. 1. DESCRIPTION 1. The beneficiary (5) The beneficiary of the aid, Rolandwerft, is a shipyard located in Berne, in the district of Wesermarsch, Lower Saxony (Germany), an assisted area pursuant to Article 87 (3)(c) of the EC Treaty. The yard is located on the shores of the river Weser, which runs into the North Sea. Rolandwerft belongs to the Hegemann group. It is a large undertaking that does not rank as a small or medium-sized enterprise under the Commission Recommendation con- cerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (2). (6) Rolandwerft produces sea-going vessels. Its central area of business is the construction of feeder ships, i.e. the smallest sub-category of container ships. In addition, the yard builds specialised ship types such as roroflolo-vessels or car carriers. In 1999, responding to a change in market demand, it began to produce larger ships measuring up to [...] ® m in length, with a weight of [...] tonnes and a cargo capacity of up to 850 TEU. In order to be able to produce these larger ships, Rolandwerft had to carry out an () OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36. (*) Business secret.