Press Release: State aid: Commission approves UK rescue aid package for Northern Rock

The European Commission has authorised, under the EC Treaty’s rules on state aid, the UK authorities' package of measures to support Northern Rock, the UK mortgage bank. The Commission received full details of these measures on 26th November 2007. The Commission has concluded that the measures comply with EU rules on rescue aid. The approval of the rescue aid measures has no bearing on whether any future measures taken by the UK authorities to support a restructuring plan would be similarly approved. Any such measures would have to be assessed on their own merits according to the rules on restructuring aid to establish whether aid was involved, and if so whether there was sufficient restructuring to offset any distortion of competition caused by the aid and to ensure the future viability of the company without further state aid.

European Commission: MEMO/07/545: State aid: Commission approves UK rescue aid package for Northern Rock – frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/545&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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