8.9 Restructuring plan

As explained in section 8.1.3, the appropriateness, necessity and proportionality of State aid measures are sometimes assessed in the Restructuring Decision (instead of the Rescue Decision). For instance, the Restructuring Decision on Banco Mare Nostrum included an assessment of the appropriateness, necessity and proportionality of measures C, D and E, while measures A and B were already assessed in the Rescue Decision. The fact that the proportionality of some State aid measures is assessed in the Restructuring Decision means that in its assessment of the proportionality, the Commission can takeinto account the restructuring plan that the Member State has submitted forthe beneficiary bank. Indeed, in the Restructuring Decision on Banco Mare Nostrum, the Commission held as follows:

This recital shows that the aid measures were considered proportionate in the light of the restructuring plan. This illustrates that there is some overlap between the (first stage) compatibility-criterion ‘proportionality’ and the (second stage) compatibility-criteria ‘burden-sharing’ and ‘limiting competition distortions’. The fact that the Commission in this Restructuring Decision merely refers to the second stage of the compatibility-assessment also fits in with the observation that the main focus of the Commission is on the second stage of the compatibility-assessment (and not on the first stage).