The Commission has decided to investigate a Dutch state aid scheme which would pay about € 56 million between 2001 and 2005 to pig slaughterhouses willing to reduce slaughtering capacity. The Commission at this stage doubts that the scheme complies with the conditions for such aid. Furthermore, the aid appears to be conditional upon a cartel agreement between slaughterhouses. This cartel does not seem to fulfil the conditions for an exemption from the general prohibition of cartels.