Brussels, 28/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has opened formal sate aid investigation procedures regarding the Belgian coordination centres scheme (undertakings belonging to multinationals that provide services to other companies in the group) and the Trieste Financial Services and Insurance Centre (Italy). The decision follows refusals by Belgium and Italy to accept the amendments to the schemes proposed by the Commission on 11 July 2001 as part of its wide-ranging activities regarding tax aid schemes (see EUROPE of 12 July, p.11). In Belgium, the taxable revenue of co-ordination centres is determined as a fixed amount of the costs incurred. The Commission believes that the exclusion of certain costs artificially reduces the tax burden on the co-ordination centres and this reduction, couples with other tax exemptions, may amount to operating aid, which the Commission doubts is compatible with the single market. When it examined the scheme in 1984, the Commission did not consider these tax rules as state aid but under the 1998 tax rules and the experience the Commission has gained in the field, it now believes the scheme needs to be reviewed. Under the Trieste centre scheme, banking and insurance undertakings operating in central and eastern European countries benefit from a tax reduction on legal persons. The Commission approved the scheme in 1995 on the grounds that it could help to develop financial markets in former Communist countries but now doubts whether such aid is necessary.