18/05/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 18 May, the European Commission ruled that the shareholder loan awarded by the French State to the company France Télécom in 2002 did not constitute state aid, as it has not been proved that a large private investor in the position of majority shareholder would not have done the same. This decision follows a judgment of the General Court of the European Union of July 2015, which overturned the decision of the European Commission that the measure constituted State aid in 2004 (see EUROPE 11349). Subsequently, the Commission appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which rejected this appeal on 30 November 2016. (LT)