8.8.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 201/21 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 13 May 2003 on the State aid which Belgium is planning to implement for Opel Belgium NV (notified under document number C(2003) 1486) (Only the Dutch and French texts are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2003/592/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 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 (%), Whereas: PROCEDURE (1) The planned aid was notified to the Commission by letter dated 2 July 2002. The Commission requested further information on 20 August 2002. Belgium replied on 23 September 2002. (20  The Commission decided on 27 November 2002 to initiate proceedings pursuant to Article 88(2) of the Treaty, as it found that doubts were raised as to the compatibility of the aid with the common market. Belgium submitted its comments on the initiation of proceedings by letter dated 28 January 2003. (3)  The Commission decision to initiate proceedings was published in the Official Journal of the European Commu- nities (), with an invitation to interested parties to submit their comments on the aid. However, no comments from interested parties were received. () 0] C 2, 7.1.2003, p. 7. () See footnote 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID The beneficiary of the aid is to be Opel Belgium NV, which is situated in Antwerp and owned by the General Motors Corporation. The Opel Antwerp plant currently employs 5914 people and assembles the Opel Astra model. As part of a major restructuring project being implemented by General Motors Europe (‘Olympia plan’), General Motors intends to invest around EUR 320 million in the Antwerp plant in order to extend the existing press shop and to retool the plant for the repla- cement Astra and another new model. According to Belgium, an extensive staff retraining programme is necessary in the context of these investments. The Belgian authorities propose to grant training aid of EUR 16,93 million (net present value EUR 15,26 million) over a period of three years, from 2003 to 2005. The proposed aid is to be granted as ad hoc aid from the Flemish Community. The total eligible cost of the training project is EUR 46,6 million. According to the notification, the programme includes elements of specific training amounting to EUR 25,54 million and general training measures amounting to EUR 21,06 million. GROUNDS FOR INITIATING THE PROCEDURE In its Decision of 27 November 2002 to initiate proceedings, the Commission expressed doubts on the way the Belgian authorities interpreted the definition of general as opposed to specific training. It could not be excluded that an excessively wide definition of general training was being applied to the project.