Moreover, plaintiffs contend that the machinery rings have set up subsidiaries, which are engaged in construction activities, trade in goods or running repair shops for agricultural machinery, thus competing with other undertakings. Due to the close relationship in staffing and geographical terms between the machinery rings and their subsidiaries and the insufficient separation of the rings' core tasks and other economic activities, it is at this stage not possible to make a clear distinction between the tasks which are supported from public funds and those which are not.
Compte tenu des relations étroites existant entre les cercles de machines et leurs filiales pour ce qui est du personnel et de la localisation géographique, ainsi que de la délimitation insuffisante entre les tâches essentielles de ces cercles et les autres activités économiques, il n'est pas possible, à ce stade, d'établir une nette distinction entre les tâches bénéficiant des deniers publics et les autres.