L 95/56 Official Journal of the European Union 14.4.2005 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 22 September 2004 on the State aid which the United Kingdom is planning to implement for Peugeot Citroén Automobiles UK Ltd (notified under document number C(2004) 3349) (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2005/301/EC) 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 (1), Whereas: I. PROCEDURE By letter dated 16 December 2002, the United Kingdom notified the Commission of a plan to grant regional aid to Peugeot Citroén Automobiles UK Ltd (hereafter PCA UK). The Commission requested further information on 7 February 2003, which was provided by the UK by letter dated 7 March 2003. By letter dated 30 April 2003, the Commission informed the United Kingdom that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty as it found that doubts were raised as to the compatibility of the aid with the common market. The Commission Decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (2). The Commission called on interested parties to submit () O] C 147, 24.6.2003, p. 2. () See footnote 1. (6) their comments. The Commission did not receive any comments from interested parties. After requesting an extension of the deadline to submit comments on 25 July 2003, the United Kingdom submitted its comments to the opening of the procedure on 5 September 2003. A meeting between the Commission, the United Kingdom and the beneficiary took place in Brussels on 17 October 2003, after which the Commission addressed a new request for information to the United Kingdom on 20 October 2003. The infor- mation was provided by the United Kingdom on 19 February and 4 May 2004. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE AND ITS RECIPIENT The planned aid would be granted to PCA UK, a subsidiary of the French group PSA Peugeot Citroén (hereafter PSA). PSA designs, manufactures and sells motor vehicles. In 2003, PSA sold 3 286 100 vehicles worldwide, achieving a turnover of EUR 54,238 billion, and an operating margin of EUR 2,195 billion. The project The notified project concerns the investment necessary for the production of a new model that will replace the current Peugeot 206 and derivatives. The current capacity at the Ryton plant is 183 500 vehi- clesfyear. The current 206 model will be phased out from 2008, with the introduction of a new model that will use a new platform. Capacity at the plant is foreseen to remain constant at 183 500 vehicles/year.