do L 54/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 25.2. 94 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 21 December 1993 concerning aid to be provided by the Irish Government to the Aer Lingus group, an undertaking mainly providing air transport services (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (94/118/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 given notice in accordance with the above Article to interested parties to submit their comments and having regard to those comments, Whereas : By letter of 12 August 1993 registered with the Commis- sion’s Secretariat-General on 2 September 1993, the Irish authorities, upon a written request from the Commission, notified the Commission, in accordance with Article 93 (3) of the Treaty, of their intention to inject £ Isl 175 million equity into the Aer Lingus group (hereinafter ‘Aer Lingus’) over a period of three years. The proposed equity injection forms part of a restruc- turing plan called ‘Strategy for the Future’ (hereinafter ‘the plan’), which the Irish authorities enclosed with the noti- fication. The plan was approved by the Irish authorities on 6 July 1993 and the Irish Minister for Finance, as shareholder, was authorized to inject £ Irl 175 million equity into Aer Lingus. This injection is to be carried out as follows: £ Irl 75 million in 1993, £ Irl 50 million in 1994 and £ Irl 50 million in 1995. The timing and amount of the equity injection are subject to the following conditions : (a) the conclusion of an agreement with the appropriate Irish unions on an essential £ Irl 50 million annual reduction in Aer Lingus’ costs; (b) production of satisfactory evidence that the proposed measures are being implemented in full; (c) formal acceptance by the Commission of the strategic plan and the proposed equity injection. The purpose of the equity injection is to reduce Aer Lingus’ burden of debt and help to restore its interest cover and debt equity ratios to prudent levels within an applicable period. In the notification the Irish authorities expressly recog- nized that the proposed equity injection in Aer Lingus is an aid pursuant to Article 92 of the Treaty. However, they maintained that the aid might be considered compatible with the common market pursuant to both Article 92 (3) (a) as regional aid and Article 92 (3) (c) as aid to facilitate the development of certain activities. On 13 October 1993 the Commission decided to initiate the procedure pursuant to Article 93 (2) of the Treaty with regard to the planned £ Irl 175 million equity injection in favour of Aer Lingus. In view of the severe negative finan- cial position of Aer Lingus at the time of the notification, the Commission decided, under the market economy investor principle, that the provision of capital contained aid elements pursuant to Article 92 (1). Moreover, the aid character of the equity injection was not contested by the Irish Government. The main reasons for initiating the procedure were the Commission’s doubts on several aspects of the restructuring plan and its effects on compe- tition. In particular, the Commission needed to be assured that : " — the cost reductions, which involve a number of measures including negotiated redundancies, are realized as envisaged in the plan,