Judgment_paragraph 45 · French Republic v Commission of the European Communities (C-17/99)

45As is clear from the Guidelines, in order to be declared compatible with Article 92(3)(c) of the Treaty, aid to undertakings in difficulty must be bound to a restructuring programme designed to reduce or redirect their activities (see Commission v Spain, cited above, paragraph 67). Any such plan, which must be submitted to the Commission with all necessary clarifications, must, in the terms of point 3.2.2(i) of the Guidelines, make it possible to ‘restore the long-term viability and health of the firm within a reasonable time scale and on the basis of realistic assumptions as to its future operating conditions’ whilst at the same time ‘offsetting] as far as possible adverse effects on competitors’ (point 3.2.2(h)) and ensuring that the aid is in proportion to restructuring costs and benefits (point 3.2.2(iii)). It is incumbent on the undertaking concerned to implement the restructuring plan, as accepted by the Commission, fully (point 3.2.2(iv)) and the implementation and satisfactory progress of the plan must be monitored by the Commission, to which detailed annual reports must be submitted (point 3.2.2(v)).