No L 86/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 4. 91 COMMISSION DECISION of 25 July 1990 on aid granted by the Province of Bolzano to the Bolzano steelworks (Only the Italian text is authentic) (91/176/ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in particular Article 4 (c) thereof, Having regard to Commission Decision No 3484/85/ ECSC of 27 November 1985 establishing Community rules for aid to the steel industry(!), and in particular Articles 1, 3, § and 6 thereof, Having given the interested parties notice to submit their observations and having regard to those observations, Whereas : In December 1987, the authorities of the Province of Bolzano granted the Bolzano steelworks (Falck Group) a subsidized loan of Lit 6 billion (ECU 3,9 million) towards an investment of Lit 23 billion (ECU 15 million) aimed at converting plant in order to produce special steels with high added value. The 11-year loan carries an interest rate of 3,5 %. On the basis of the 12,8 % reference rate () established by the Commission for Italy that year, the subsidy therefore amounts to 9,3 percentage points. The legal basis for a subsidized loan of this kind is Provincial Law No 25 of the Province of Bolzano of 8 September 1981 on financial assistance for industry. By letter dated 26 July 1988, the Commission requested further details on the loan from the Italian authorities. It pointed out that the aid, which had not been notified to the Commission beforehand as required by Article 6 (1) of Decision No 3484/85/ECSC, did not qualify for any of the exemptions listed in that Decision from the basic prohibition on aid to the steel industry contained in Article 4 (c) of the ECSC Treaty. () OJ No L 340, 18. 12. 1985, p. 1. () For the definition of this rate, see OJ No C 31, 3. 2. 1979. The Italian authorities replied on 5 November 1988, stressing that the investment in question was part of the restructuring plan for the Bolzano steelworks which had been communicated to the Commission in September 1982 and approved by it in 1983. They informed the Commission that the loan in question had been decided in principle by the Bolzano provincial authorities on 14 February 1983. Arguing that the loan had been granted under a provin- cial law, they considered that the aid could be covered by Article 5 of Decision No 3484/85/ECSC as a regional aid to investment. II The Commission does not dispute that it approved the Falck restructuring plan which had been notified under Commission Decision No 2320/81/ECSC (}), as amended by Decision No 1018/85/ECSC (¥). On 25 May 1983, the Commission had approved, under Decision No 2320/81/ECSC, aid for the restructuring of certain Italian firms in the private sector, including an amount of Lit 2 billion for the Bolzano steelworks to be granted under National Law No 675/77. The Italian Government, however, informed the Commis- sion during its examination of the case that, because of the administrative structure in Italy, which confers con- siderable autonomy on the Provinces of Trentino and Bolzano in particular, National Law No 675/77 was not applicable in those territories. In the Province of Bolzano, it is replaced by Provincial Law No 25/81, referred to above. This was one of several factors which delayed the granting of aid in connection with the restructuring plan, the aid finally being granted only in December 1987. () OJ No L 228, 13. 8. 1981, p. 14. () OJ No L 110, 23. 4. 1985, p. 5.