Fuente: © European Union
http://europa.eu.int

State Aid: the Commission authorises EUR 14 million in aid for French PAMELAT project by Latécoère

/noticias.info/ The European Commission has given the green light to aid worth EUR 14 million proposed by France for the research and development project PAMELAT ("pointe avant mixte Latécoère"), conducted by Latécoère, under the EC Treaty rules on State aid. The project concerns research and development of composite materials for aircraft nose sections. Following an in-depth examination of the aid granted to Latécoère, the Commission concluded that it was compatible with the single market. This grant is justified by a market failure related to the project's high level of risk and uncertainty.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated that: "by approving EUR 14 million in aid to the PAMELAT project in France, the Commission is demonstrating its commitment to aid targeted to research, development and innovation. The Commission's investigation shows that the programme's positive effects outweigh the competition problems caused by the aid".

The PAMELAT R&D programme will cost EUR 33 million over three years. It concerns research and development of double curvature panels made from composite materials that can be assembled on a mixed composite-metal structure. This technological innovation will have to meet certain performance criteria, in particular in terms of mass reduction of the structure. Use of composite materials for aeroplane structures is currently expanding, but is still very limited in nose sections given the complexity of this part of the aeroplane.

The project is headed by Latécoère, a group operating in the aeronautics sector which is specialised in the production of aerostructures and on-board wiring and systems, and is also involved in engineering and services.

The R&D programme was chosen in the context of a call for proposals in the field of composite materials launched by the French Directorate-General for Enterprise in March 2007. This aid falls under the R&D aid scheme in the aeronautical sector (N51/2006) authorised by the Commission on 2 March 2006, whereby aid above certain thresholds must be individually notified to the Commission (see IP/06/1020). Thus on 7 November 2007 France notified the EUR 14 million in aid it intended to grant to Latécoère for the PAMELAT project.

Following a thorough examination of the proposed aid, the Commission considered that it met the conditions set down in the Community Research, Development and Innovation Framework (see IP/06/1600).

It appears that a project of this kind would not be generated spontaneously by the market because of the associated risks and the uncertainty about its chances of success. Moreover, it is an industrial research project which has no direct impact on the market and which involves a limited amount of aid in terms of the sector. The distortions of competition caused by the aid should not, therefore, be excessive.

A non-confidential version of the decision will be published in the State Aid Register under number N 647/2007 on the DG Competition website once all the confidentiality issues have been resolved. An electronic bulletin called the "State Aid Weekly e-News" provides a list of the latest decisions on State aid published in the Official Journal and on the website. notas_de_prensa_archivo