The State aid which France is planning to implement for Bull, which consists of a EUR 517 million payment coupled with a better fortunes clause, is compatible with the common market subject to the conditions laid down in Article 2.
1.Bull's restructuring plan, as communicated to the Commission by France, shall be implemented in full.
2.The aid referred to in Article 1 shall not be paid until the rescue aid approved by Decision 2003/599/EC has been reimbursed. It shall be paid on 31 December 2004 at the earliest.
3.France shall submit to the Commission annual reports on the implementation of the restructuring plan for the period up to the end of 2007.
France shall inform the Commission, within two months of notification of this Decision, of the measures taken to comply with it.
This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.
Done at Brussels, 1 December 2004.
For the Commission
Neelie Kroes
Member of the Commission