[autom.vertaling] Overheidssteun: De Commissie machtigt €70 miljoen in hulp van het Franse Industriële Agentschap van de Innovatie voor "MINimage" O&O- programma (en)
The European Commission has decided not to raise any objections under Community state aid rules to the €70 million financial aid granted by France to the MINimage research and development (R&D) programme. The programme, which is being implemented in association with Saint-Gobain, French research bodies and small businesses, is coordinated by the STMicroelectronics group. Its objective is to perfect a new generation of micro-cameras for mobile phones.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes i said: "The aim of the MINimage programme is to develop a new breed of micro-cameras for mobile phones. The innovative ideas currently being studied will add to our knowledge of high technology areas and enable us to develop products which will meet the expectations of business and consumers."
The aim of the MINimage programme, which represents overall expenditure on R&D of €141 million spread over four years, is to perfect a new generation of micro-cameras for mobile phones. The new ideas being studied are intended to respond to market expectations, namely better image quality, greater miniaturisation, lower energy use and low cost.
The programme is coordinated by the STMicroelectronics group, a major player in the semi-conductor sector, in collaboration with Saint-Gobain, a world leader in the production and processing of flat glass, SMEs such as Varioptic and DxO Labs, and research bodies such as the French Atomic Energy Agency ( Commissariat à l'énergie atomique), the National Institute for Computer Science and Control ( Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique) and the Hubert Curien Laboratory.
France notified its intention to grant the aid of €70 million to the MINimage programme on 26 July 2007. This aid forms part of the Industrial Innovation Agency's aid scheme, which was authorised by the Commission on 19 July 2006 (see IP/06/1020 ). Following a detailed examination, the Commission took the view that the measure met the conditions set out in the Community framework for state aid for R&D and innovation (see IP/06/1600 ).
The Commission's study indicated that the implementation of the MINimage programme was not market-driven. In fact it introduced more radical and more rapid technological changes than predicted by the roadmap normally followed by the sector, making MINimage a particularly high-risk venture. The aid notified would seem to be an appropriate means of launching the R&D programme which will permit the creation of knowledge in the field of advanced technologies and its dissemination within the EU.
It also seems that the distortions of competition caused by the aid are likely to have only a limited disruptive effect on the competitive operation of the markets concerned, since the amount of aid is small compared with overall R&D expenditure in the sector. Moreover, the market is growing and groups with substantial financial resources and expertise are present and expanding on the market. Purchasers (that is to say, mobile phone manufacturers) have significant market power, which limits the scope for micro-camera manufacturers to increase their prices. Finally, if MINimage were successful, STM's market share would increase by only a few percentage points.
The non-confidential version of today's decision will be made available under case number N 435/2007 in the State aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of State aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in State aid Weekly e-News.