Brussels confirmed Thursday evening that it had received restructuring plans from the Polish authorities for three shipyards in Gdynia, Gdansk and Szczecin, which are at the centre of state aid concerns.
The move came just hours before a deadline for delivering an acceptable package to the European Commission’s competition authorities expired. If the desparate scamble to save the yards fails, they will have to pay back over €1bn of past state aid, and would certainly face closure.
Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, had previously said that she had “serious doubts” about the proposals being suggested by the Polish authorities.
But the European Commission said Thursday that it would now assess the latest plans “in the framework of its inquiry under EU state aid rules”. Officials delcined to comment further, explaining that the proposals were in Polish and were still being studied.
However, the Commission added that it would expect to analyse, in particular, whether the plans will ensure the long-term profitability of the shipyards, and provide offsetting compensation to limit the distortion of competition caused by any aid provided.
Brussels has also insisted by a large part of the financing for the yards needs to come from non-state sources.
The move came just hours before a deadline for delivering an acceptable package to the European Commission’s competition authorities expired. If the desparate scamble to save the yards fails, they will have to pay back over €1bn of past state aid, and would certainly face closure.
Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, had previously said that she had “serious doubts” about the proposals being suggested by the Polish authorities.
But the European Commission said Thursday that it would now assess the latest plans “in the framework of its inquiry under EU state aid rules”. Officials delcined to comment further, explaining that the proposals were in Polish and were still being studied.
However, the Commission added that it would expect to analyse, in particular, whether the plans will ensure the long-term profitability of the shipyards, and provide offsetting compensation to limit the distortion of competition caused by any aid provided.
Brussels has also insisted by a large part of the financing for the yards needs to come from non-state sources.