Brussels, 14/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised a one-off rescue aid package to Bull (a French manufacturer of computing products) of € 450 million. This decision concludes proceedings that were launched on 9 April 2002 (see EUROPE 11 April p 17). The aid was approved according to the Community Guidelines on State Aid for Rescuing and Restructuring Firms in Difficulty. As Bull has already received restructuring aid in the period 1993-94, no further restructuring aid may be given for the duration of a 10 years after the 1993-94 restructuring period has come to an end, which will therefore not be before the end of December 2004 (also referred to as the "one time, last time" condition). The French authorities have argued that the present support in favour of Bull constitutes a short-term rescue loan and not further restructuring aid. The Commission has accepted this definition and authorised the aid if the following conditions are accepted: the rescue loan is made available at an interest rate at least comparable to the interest a healthy firm needs to pay under normal market conditions; the loan needs to be reimbursed by 17 June 2003; the aid is restricted to the amount needed to keep the firm in business for a period of six months; that the aid received is not used to undertake new investments; no additional support in the form of restructuring aid may be granted before 31 December 2004. Equally, no further rescue aid may be granted to Bull as rescue aid, because this aid is a one-off operation designed to keep an undertaking in business for a limited period.