Brussels, 16/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has banned the payment to the Italian car maker Fiat of Italian regional aid in the amount of EUR 24 million (ITL 46 billion) for its Rivalta plant near Turin. The Commission's competition services found that Italy failed to provide sufficient evidence of the risk of relocation of the project, especially since Fiat conducted its location study in 1993-1994, whereas Rivalta has only been an assisted area under regional policy until 1995. The location study therefore could not, at the time, have counted on regional aid. The project is aimed at fitting out the plant for the production of Fiat Bravo/Brava and Marea models, Lancia Nuovo Dedra and Alfa Romeo 166.
The aid is part of a package of six projects for Fiat notified by Italy in late 1997. Last December, the Commission banned aid of EUR 16 million for the Mirafiori Meccanica site near Turin. In contrast, it authorised aid for the Pomigliano d'Arco facilities near Naples and the Termoli and Cassino sites in southern Italy. It still has to hand down a judgement on the case of Mirafiori Carozzeria. The European Executive also initiated last November a detailed investigation into aid of EUR 40 million for the Fiat plan in Melfi (Basilicata).