Press Release: State Aid: Commission gives conditional approval to €31 million aid for FagorBrandt

The European Commission has approved €31 million restructuring aid, subject to certain conditions, for the French household appliances group FagorBrandt. Following the annulment by the EU Court of Justice of its 2008 decision authorising the aid, the Commission re-examined the case in the light of the Court’s judgment and set stricter conditions for approval of the aid. FagorBrandt will be banned from marketing products under the Vedette brand for an additional three years, until the end of 2016.

In addition, it must increase its contribution to the restructuring costs to take into account the cumulative effect of earlier state aid. Provided these two conditions are complied with, the aid meets the criteria laid down in the guidelines on state aid for firms in difficulty. It does not, therefore, distort the conditions of competition within the internal market to an extent contrary to the common interest.