Brussels, 10/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has opened inquiry proceedings against an overall advance of EUR 450 million from the French State to the information technology company, Bull, of which it is a minority shareholder. At the end of 2001, France granted Bull a first advance of EUR 100 million without notifying it to the Commission. In March 2002, it gratified Bull with a further treasury advance of EUR 350 million, this time notified at the same time as the first aid, under the title of rescue aid. Paid over a maximum period of 6 months and subject to interest (annual rate 5.23%), the aid, the aim of which is to prevent the company from becoming bankrupt in the short term, must be reimbursed twelve months at the latest after the last payment. The Commission has doubts as to respect of the guidelines for rescue and restructuring aid of companies in difficulty, which provide that a rescue operation must be of an exceptional nature and have as its sole aim to maintain activity during a limited period, during which time the future of the company will be evaluated. Bull had already benefited from several aid schemes, including aid to restructuring of EUR 1.311 billion in 1993-1994, which had been accepted through complete restructuring of the company. Since 1999, the situation of Bull has grown worse, compelling the company to sell assets and dismiss personnel, during a recovery plan the effects of which have still to be felt. The Commission also fears that the aid should not be used in order to cover the costs of restructuring for which Bull has already received non-renewable aid ("one time last time" aid principle), and has difficulty in establishing when the first aid was granted exactly and what its exact duration should be, given that it had not been notified until late in the day. Finally, it fears the "spill-over" effect into other Member States since Bull is active in six other EU States.