6. 3. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 55/61 COMMISSION DECISION of 11 November 1992 concerning a draft order of the Brussels region providing for aid to promote economic growth and scientific research (Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic) (93/134/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular the first subpara- graph of Article 93 (2) thereof, Having given the parties concerned notice to submit their comments, in accordance with Article 93, Whereas : I By note dated 26 July 1991 from its Permanent Repre- sentation, the Belgian Government notified the Commis- sion, in accordance with the provisions of Article 93 (3) of the EEC Treaty, of a draft order of the Brussels region providing for aid to promote economic growth and scien- tific research. ‘ Additional information was requested from the Belgian authorities by letter dated 8 August 1991. The. Belgian authorities” reply was received by the Commission on 27 September 1991. By letter dated 9 December 1991, the Commission informed the Belgian Government that it had decided to initiate the procedure provided for in Article 93 (2) of the EEC Treaty in respect of the aid and requested the Belgian Government to submit its comments. Interested third parties were informed of the Commis- sion’s decision through publication of a notice in the - Official Journal of the European Communities on 29 January 1992 ('). No comments were received from interested third parties. The aid provided for in the draft order in respect of which the abovementioned procedure war initiated may be described as follows : ' — aid for industrial and craft-based undertakings in the form of capital grants or interest subsidies, possibly coupled with a guarantee by the region and the State and amounting to: () OJ No C 22, 29. 1. 1992, p. 8. — 20 % of the investment where the sole object of the investment is the rational use of energy, water or raw materials, environmental protection or the specific adjustment of the undertaking to its parti- cular location or its relocation in an urban envi- ronment, ' — 8 % of any investment carried out by an underta- king situated in a ‘less-favoured urban district’; — aid of the same type, without any maximum rate, for the purposes of sectoral aid or for technological or other facilities which are of particular importance for the Brussels region; — aid of up to 50 % of the cost of economic, technical and financial studies relating to the abovementioned investments (80 % with a maximum of Bfrs § million) ;- — R &D aid, in the form of grants for basic research, amounting to 50 % of the cost of the project (60 % in the case of small and medium businesses — SMBs — and research involving a considerable business risk or being of particular interest at European level), and in the form of an advance involving conditional or unconditional repayment, amounting to 40 % (50 %) of the project in the case of applied research or ~accompanying meastres ; — progress contracts concluded with undertakings for the carrying-out of multiannual programmes inclu- ding any technological, industrial and development operation and comprising ‘aid of up to 15 % of the investment, though this ceiling may be exceeded in the case of European industrial programmes that are the subject of national or international agreements. II The aid provided for under the draft order is caught by the provisions of Article 92 (1) of the EEC Treaty. Both the acceptance (or rejection) of applications and the deter- mination of the amount and the terms of the aid are assessed and decided on in each individual case by the competent Brussels authorities. The aid will thus be granted by the State through State resources. It should be borne in mind that all aid granted by regional or local