State of progress of Commission investigation into the extension of the Belgian deposit guarantee scheme protecting ARCO group shares
4.2.2014
Question for written answer E-001117-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Anne Delvaux (PPE)
Following the liquidation of ARCO (a Belgian group of financial cooperatives) in October 2011, the Belgian Government notified, by Royal Decree of 7 November 2011, the extension of the deposit guarantee scheme to protect shares held by individual shareholders in financial cooperatives.
In April 2012, the Commission announced that it would launch an investigation into this scheme in order to determine whether it violated EU rules on state aid. On 3 April 2012, the Commission also ‘decided to issue a suspension injunction to ensure that the Belgian State does not make pay-outs in relation to the guarantee scheme and to prevent the admission by the Belgian State of new cooperatives to that scheme’[1]. The Commission also asked ‘interested third parties to comment’.
Can the Commission provide some information regarding the state of progress of the case and specify the date on which a decision will be reached?
- [1] Answer given on 18 January 2013 by Mr Almunia on behalf of the Commission in response to Written Question E-010452/2012.
OJ C 305, 09/09/2014