Brussels, 15/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to approve State aid concerning a new venture-capital fund founded in Northern Ireland and called Viridian Growth Fund. the regime, aimed at the creation and running of the Fund, was notified by the British authorities in September 1999 and the formal investigation procedure was begun in April 2000. During this examination, the Commission took account of the Conclusions of the Lisbon Council by which it is a question of "redirecting funding towards support for business start-ups, high-tech firms and micro-enterprises, as well as other risk-capital initiatives proposed by the EIB". The Commission also took account of Northern Ireland's status as assisted region and as such benefiting from the guidelines on State aid for regional purposes, as well as of the fact that the British authorities had provided a certain number of changes to the regime to limit distortions to competition to the minimum. On the basis of these considerations, and in the absence of any complaint, the Commission decided not to oppose the aid.