12. 9. 96 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 231/23 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 30 April 1996 concerning aid granted by Italy to the footwear industry (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/542/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 61 (1) thereof, Having given notice in accordance with those Articles to interested parties to submit their comments, Whereas: By letter dated 24 April 1995('), the Commission informed the Italian Government that it had initiated the procedure provided for in Article 93 (2) of the Treaty in the case of aid granted to the footwear industry. By letter from the Office of the Italian Permanent Representative, received on 11 October 1994, the Italian Government belatedly notified the measures. Article 6 of Decree-Law No 40 of 18 January 1994, which was converted, after several extensions, into Law No 451 of 19 July 1994 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Law 451/94’), establishes measures to promote employment. Under that Article, enterprises in industries experiencing serious employment difficulties which set up job-creation schemes qualify for total or partial exemption from employers’ social security contributions in respect of newly recruited workers. () OJ No L 271, 17. 10. 1995, p. 7. The job-creation schemes must be drawn up by the trade- union and employers’ organizations for the industry in question and approved by decree of the Minister for Labour and Social Security in agreement with the Minister for the Treasury. They are not intended for busi- nesses that have dismissed workers in the twelve months preceding any new recruitment. There must accordingly be a net creation of jobs. The employers’ and trade-union organizations in the Italian footwear industry have introduced measures to increase employment in existing businesses and to create new enterprises with a view to curbing the tendency for businesses to relocate abroad and offsetting the effects this has on employment in Italy. The Ministerial Decree of 31 March 1994 approving the scheme for extraordinary assistance to support production and employment in the footwear industry (hereinafter referred to as ‘the MD of 31 March 1994’) constitutes the first application to the industry of Article 6 of Law 451/94. The measure applies to 5000 jobs that are to be created, of which half will be of indefinite duration. Budgetization of the social security contributions will decrease over time, at least as regards the indefinite contracts. The Commission decided to initiate the Article 93 (2) procedure in respect of the measure on the ground that the total or partial budgetization of social security contri- butions paid by the enterprises constituted sectoral aid. The fact that the measure may benefit ‘sectors experi- encing an employment crisis’ also introduces an element of discretion in the Italian Government’s selection of the industries qualifying for aid.