Press Release: State aid: Commission opens an in-depth investigation into the restructuring of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group

The European Commission has opened an in‑depth investigation to determine whether the PSA group’s restructuring plan is compatible with the European Union’s state aid rules. The opening of an investigation in no way prejudges its final outcome. It allows interested third parties to submit their comments and increases legal certainty for the aid beneficiary when the Commission adopts its decision.

The restructuring plan notified by France includes a guarantee of EUR 7 billion as well as grants and repayable advances of EUR 85.9 million.

The plan comprises a restructuring of the industrial organisation and the administrative structures, and a research and development project in the field of hybrid technologies. It forecasts a return to viability in 2015 and a number of compensatory measures to limit distortions of competition.

At this stage, the Commission intends to verify whether the assumptions underlying the restructuring plan to restore the company’s long‑term viability without continued state support are sufficiently realistic, in particular given the recent trend on the car market. The Commission wishes to check that the compensatory measures are proportionate to the distortions of competition created by the grants awarded.