L 47/28 Official Journal of the European Union 18.2.2005 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 15 October 2003 on the Walloon region’s financial stake in Carsid SA (notified under document number C(2003) 3527) (Only the Dutch and French versions are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2005/137/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, (2) 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 regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of (4) Article 93 of the EC Treaty (1), Having called on interested parties to submit their comments (2), and having regard to their comments, Whereas: (%) I. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 17 October 2001, Belgium notified the Commission of the Walloon region’s plan to acquire a stake in the capital of a new steel company, Carsid SA. Further information was sent to the Commission by letters dated 20 November 2001 and 14 February 2002. (") OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. Regulation as amended by the 2003 Act By letter dated 3 April 2002, the Commission informed Belgium that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 6(5) of Commission Decision No 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996 establishing Community rules for State aid to the steel industry (3). The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Commu- nities (*). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. The Commission received comments from interested parties. It forwarded them to Belgium, which was given the opportunity to react; its comments were received by letters dated 17 June, 6 September, 22 October and 25 November 2002. II. THE COMPANIES WITH A HOLDING IN CARSID The Société wallonne de gestion et de participations (Sogepa) is a Walloon Region holding company which, amongst other things, took over the activities of the Société wallonne pour la sidérurgie (SWS). In the steel industry, its object, as part of Wallonia’s general economic policy, is to promote the creation or expansion of companies and to promote public industrial initiatives. At the time of notification, Sogepa had a 25 % stake in the capital of the Belgian steel producer Cockerill Sambre. It also held 25% of the capital of Duferco Clabecq (see recital 9 of this Decision), Duferco La Louviere (see recital 11) and Duferco Belgium (see recital 12). of Accession. 3 O] L 338, 28.12.1996, p. 42. ] P () OJ C 95, 19.4.2002, p. 2. (*) See footnote 2.