The Commission has decided to set the new aid ceiling applicable for shipbuilding at 9%. This ceiling applies for contracts entered into after 1 January 1993 and all other operating aid granted after that date. At the same meeting the Commission decided with effect from 1 January 1993 not to allow contract-related aid higher than 4,5% for building of ships of a contract value of less than ECU 10 million and for ship conversion . This means that the existing ceilings will continue to be maintained although the difference between the costs of the most competitive community yards and the prices charged by the main international competitors has widened compared with last year. By this decision the Commission has underlined its continuing commitment to the aid policy laid down in the Sixth and Seventh Directives on Aid to Shipbuilding, the aim of which is a progressive reduction in the level of the ceiling . At the same time it has sent a clear signal to its partners in the OECD negotiations, on an international agreement on elimination of all obstacles to normal competition in the shipbuilding sector, of the Community's readiness to participate constructively and positively in these talks with a view to the eventual elimination of all aid to shipbuilding. In recent years the Community's policy has led to a reduction in the ceiling from 28% in 1987 to 9% for 1992. * * *
