Commissie onderzoekt staatssteun Tjechië aan banksector (en)

In its first decision according to the so-called interim mechanism procedure provided for in Annex IV.3 of the Act of Accession, the Commission concludes that none of the measures notified by the Czech authorities in favour of Komercni banka a.s. ("KB") are "applicable after accession". This implies that the Commission may no longer assess the competitive impact of the measures after accession. KB is a Czech bank formerly owned by the Czech State.

Following the notification, the Commission reviewed the information submitted by the Czech authorities and carried out an analysis of the individual measures notified. The Commission has come to the conclusion that none of the measures notified by the Czech authorities in the case of KB are "applicable after accession" and thus cannot be assessed by the Commission after accession.

State aid is deemed to be "applicable after accession" if the State intervention is not linked to a specific project and the aid is awarded before accession for an indefinite period of time and/or comprises an indefinite amount. Aid is also applicable after accession if the precise economic exposure of the State is not known on the date the aid is granted

To date, the Czech Republic has notified the first two of altogether sixteen banking cases for assessment according to the so-called "interim mechanism" provided for in the Accession Treaty. The examination of these cases by the Commission services is taking place in constructive co-operation of the Czech authorities. The cases concern rescue and restructuring aid in favour of banks that were previously owned by the Czech State. A decision on the second notification submitted so far, concerning Ceská sporitelna, a.s., is scheduled for January 2004.

Background

In the period from 1994 through 1998 the whole banking sector in the Czech republic was subject to serious economic difficulties. In this period, the Czech state took several support measures aiming to ensure the rescue and restructuring of several banks and their subsequent privatisation.

The first two (out of sixteen) cases submitted by now concern Komercní Banka (now owned by French Société Générale) and Ceská Sporitelna (now owned by Austrian Erste Bank). These two banks are amongst the largest in the Czech Republic.

The interim mechanism

The interim mechanism procedure is the legal framework for the assessment of aid schemes and individual aid measures put into effect in a new Member State before the date of accession and "still applicable after accession". Over the past months the Commission has provided guidance to the new Member States on the types of State measures that are deemed to be "applicable after accession" within the framework of the interim mechanism.