Press Release: State aid: Commission concludes Czech steel producer Trinecké zelezárny received no illegal aid

The European Commission, following in-depth investigation, has concluded that all three Czech Government measures in favour of steel producer Trinecké zelezárny (“TZ”) are not in breach of EC Treaty state aid rules. In April 2004, the month before the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU, the Government authorised various measures in favour of TZ. In December 2004 (see IP/04/1475), the Commission launched an in-depth investigation to verify whether three of the measures did not constitute restructuring aid to TZ, which was prohibited before accession under Protocol No. 2 of the Accession Treaty. The Commission has now decided that none of these measures constituted illegal aid: the price paid by the Government for some shares held by TZ was not demonstratively excessive; the training support was granted in accordance with the applicable EU rules, and the third measure had not been implemented by the Government at all.