8.12.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L 361/21 I (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 10 December 2003 on State aid implemented by France for France 2 and France 3 (notified under document number C(2003) 4497) (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2004/838EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (') and having regard to their comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE On 10 March 1993, Télévision Frangaise 1 SA (hereinafter TF1) submitted a complaint to the Commission concerning the methods used to finance and operate the public broadcasters France 2 and France 3 (3). The complaint alleged infringements of Article 81, Article 86(1), and Article 87 of the Treaty. With regard to Article 81 of the Treaty, TF1 argued that France 2 and France 3 had implemented a number of concerted practices which had as their object and effect the restriction of competition. As far as Article 86 was concerned, TF1 considered that the French State was maintaining in force measures that were contrary to the principle of equal treatment of public and private enterprises and imposed or encouraged anticompetitive agreements. Lastly, as regards Article 87 of the Treaty, TF1 claimed that the licence fee, various grants and capital injections and authorisations to incur deficits which France 2 and France 3 received in the early 1990s constituted State aid. TF1 also regarded as a measure with equivalent effect to State aid the fact that the French Broadcasting Authority could not impose fines on the public broadcasters. TF1 alleged that these State aid measures had enabled the public broadcasters to disregard all commercial profitability constraints by outbidding for the purchase of television rights and offering introductory prices and artificial reductions on their advertising slots or sponsorship activities. (1) OJ C 340, 27.11.1999, p. 57. (%) For the sake of clarity, this Decision will refer to the broadcasters only as ‘France 2" and ‘France 3’ which in September 1992 replaced the names ‘Antenne 2’ and ‘France Régions 3.