Brussels, 16/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 October, the European Commission found an Irish aid scheme aimed at restructuring the credit union sector to be in line with EU state aid rules. The Commission concluded that the scheme will strengthen the Irish financial sector, while limiting the risk of distorting competition on the single market. This is the first scheme that a member state has put in place for the restructuring of small financial institutions (in line with the 2013 Communication on the banking sector). It has a budget of €280 million: €250 million funded by the Irish state to support amalgamations, and €30 million to stabilise specific credit unions (to be funded via a sector levy). (LC)