Brussels, 15/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 15 May, the European Commission opened a formal investigation to examine whether Spanish plans to offer Ford España SL a €25.2 million direct grant for the production of a new model of Ford Transit Connect in Almussafes (Valencia), an area with high unemployment and a low level of GDP eligible for regional aid under the EU treaty. The total investment costs to be taken into account for the calculation of the aid amount to €419.9 million, but a preliminary investigation by the Commission revealed that the project might exceed the authorised 5% increase in production capacity on a market in decline, depending on the data used for the calculation. At this stage, the Commission has doubts that the data provided by Spain is appropriate to determine whether the market concerned is in decline. The Commission will now investigate these aspects further to determine whether the relevant thresholds are met. If the thresholds are not met, the Commission will have to perform an in-depth assessment in order to ascertain whether state aid is necessary for realising the investment project and whether the benefits of the aid for regional development outweigh the distortion of competition that it creates. Ford España was granted substantial regional aid by Spain in 2008, to the tune of €52 million, and 2010, to the tune of €23 million. (FG/transl.fl)