Press Release: State aid: Commission approves €31 million restructuring aid for French household appliances producer FagorBrandt

The European Commission, under the EC Treaty’s rules on state aid, cleared restructuring aid of €31 million which France intends to grant to household appliances producer FagorBrandt. Following an in-depth investigation, launched in October 2007, the Commission found that the restructuring plan presented by the French authorities was capable of restoring the company's long-term viability and that the aid was limited to the minimum necessary to implement the restructuring. The approval is subject to conditions in order to avoid undue distortions of competition. France must recover illegal aid received by FagorBrandt in 2002 before granting the restructuring aid just endorsed. Under these conditions, the Commission considered the aid to be compatible with the EU guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty.