L 366/32 Official Journal of the European Union 21.12.2006 COMMISSION DECISION of 4 July 2006 on State aid C 40/2005 (ex N 331/2005) which Belgium is planning to give to Ford Genk (notified under document number C(2006) 2931) (Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006/938/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 invited the parties concerned to submit their comments in accordance with the articles referred to above (1), Whereas: PROCEDURE Belgium notified the Commission of the planned aid to Ford in Genk by letter dated 22 June 2005, registered on 27 June 2005. The Commission requested further information by letter of 27 July 2005, to which the Belgian authorities replied by letter dated and registered on 15 September 2005. By letter of 9 November 2005, the Commission informed Belgium that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the aid. A meeting with the Belgian authorities followed on 25 November 2005. The Belgian authorities submitted their observations by letter dated and registered on 13 January 2006. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 25 February 2006 (3). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. However, no comments were received. () OJ C 47 of 25.2.2006, p. 14. () See footnote 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE AID The recipient The recipient of the aid is Ford-Werke GmbH, Fabrieken te Genk, Belgium (hereinafter referred to as ‘Ford Genk), which is part of the Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1964. At the end of 2003, as part of a general restructuring of Ford Europe, there was a significant reduction in staff involving about 3 000 employees. At the same time, the company announced an investment programme of some EUR 700 million., primarily devoted to a new flexible manufacturing system. Under this programme production of the next generation Galaxy and a third model would be added to the current Mondeo production line. The plant currently employs about 5 000 people. In 2004 it produced 207 163 vehicles. In Belgium the Ford group also has a Volvo plant in Ghent. The training project According to the information provided by Belgium, the training programme’s eligible costs total EUR 33,84 million. This figure includes EUR 25,34 million for specific training and EUR 8,5 million for general training. The eligible costs considered in the programme, and their respective amounts, are: —  Consultancy costs: they cover the provision of training services by external suppliers. — On-the job-training: cost of the operators when trained on the production line (versatility). The workers have to be able to operate at three different positions in the team. According to Ford’s training objectives, this accounts for 1,35 training days per year on average. — Lean organisation: cost of the personnel in the team providing training in lean, flexible, and efficient production methods, in line with the new Ford Production System (FPS).