2008/136/EC: Commission Decision of 22 June 2006 on the ad hoc financing of Dutch public service broadcasters C 2/2004 (ex NN 170/2003) (notified under document number C (2006)2084) (Text with EEA relevance)

1 The ad hoc state aid which the Netherlands has granted to the NOS for the functions it performs as PO is incompatible with the common market.

2 The incompatible ad hoc state aid shall be recovered from the NOS. The amount to be recovered is €76,327 million, plus interest.

3 The ad hoc state aid granted by the Netherlands to the individual public service broadcasters is compatible with the common market provided that, insofar as such aid results in over-compensation of the public service mission, the surplus is held in a special purpose reserve, the amount of which does not exceed 10 % of the broadcaster's annual budget and provided that compliance with this limitation is regularly monitored by the Netherlands.

1 The Netherlands shall take all necessary measures to recover from the PO the aid referred to in Article 1 and unlawfully made available to the beneficiary.

2 Recovery shall take effect without delay and in accordance with the procedures of national law, provided that they allow the immediate and effective execution of the decision. The aid to be recovered shall include interest from the date on which it was made available to the beneficiaries until the date of its recovery.

3 The interest to be recovered under paragraph 2 shall be calculated in accordance with the procedures laid down in Articles 9 and 11 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 .

4 Within two months of the notification of this Decision, the Netherlands shall enjoin the beneficiary referred to in Article 1 to reimburse the unlawful and incompatible aid and the interest due.

The Netherlands shall inform the Commission, within two months of notification of this Decision, of the measures it has already taken and plans to take in order to comply with it. It will provide this information using the questionnaire attached in Annex 1 of this Decision. The Netherlands shall, within the same period of time, submit all documents giving evidence that the recovery proceedings have been initiated against the beneficiary of the unlawfully granted and incompatible aid.

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.