Brussels, 17/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission concluded on Tuesday 16 September that the aid granted by France to the Supergrid Institut pour la transition énergétique for a research project complies with EU state aid rules. The project is aimed at developing a new generation of long-distance energy transmission networks and will promote important European objectives such as securing energy supplies and protecting the environment without unduly distorting competition, according to the Commission. France notified its plans to grant a subsidy of €86.6 million to SAS SuperGrid in 2013. On completing its review, the Commission concluded that the SuperGrid project suffered from market failures justifying the use of public aid and that the aid gave enterprises a necessary and sufficient incentive to change their behaviour and carry out a project they would not otherwise have undertaken. Given the openness of the technology markets and the scope for exploiting the intellectual property rights arising from the project, there was no risk of competition being distorted. (EL)