State aid: Commission approves €3.5 million Italian rescue aid to Blutec and its subsidiary Ingegneria Italia

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, Italian plans to grant a €3.5 million public guarantee on a temporary loan to Blutec and its subsidiary, Ingegneria Italia, both active in the manufacturing of component for motor vehicles. The companies are experiencing financial difficulties and are in so-called ‘amministrazione straordinaria’, a form of bankruptcy administration in Italy. The rescue aid will provide the companies with sufficient resources to address their immediate liquidity needs. More specifically, it will help the beneficiaries access the necessary financing to decontaminate certain industrial units from toxic substances, in particular asbestos, to improve working conditions and safety and put in place other improvements, which the beneficiaries would not be able to finance at market conditions. EU State aid rules, more specifically, the Commission’s Guidelines on rescue and restructuring aid allow Member States to support companies in difficulty, provided, in particular, that the public support measures are properly remunerated, limited in time and scope and that they contribute to an objective of common interest. In the present case, the Commission considered that the loan guarantee is limited to meeting the company’s well identified liquidity needs. Furthermore, Italy committed to ensure that, after six months, the loan will either be fully repaid or the guarantee terminated, or the beneficiaries will undertake a comprehensive restructuring or be liquidated. The Commission also found that the aid contributes to an objective of common interest. In this respect, the loan will mitigate the risk of immediate loss of over 1,100 jobs in regions (Sicily, Abruzzo, Basilicata) already characterised by relatively high unemployment levels. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the rescue loan is limited in time and that its positive effects outweigh the distortions of competition brought about by the public intervention, in line with the applicable Guidelines. More information will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number SA.57755.