27/02/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission concluded on Thursday 27 February that the establishment and financing of the Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI) from 2013 onwards does not violate EU state aid rules. DVI is a fund of funds structure, jointly initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (‘MoE’), the European Investment Fund (‘EIF’) and PPM Oost, a Dutch public development company. DVI invests in private equity funds that take stakes in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In September 2018, the Commission received a complaint alleging that the Dutch State had granted State aid to DVI in the form of compensation fees for certain services provided. The Commission found that no State aid had been granted. (LC)