Brussels, 11/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission authorised:
- rescue aid in favour of German electronics manufacturer Grundig AG;
- an aid scheme consisting of tax reductions in favour of the duty-free zone of Madeira;
- a tax on tonnage in Ireland, a scheme that meets the requirements set by State aid rules in favour of maritime transport;
- a Danish aid scheme for environmentally-friendly freight transport by rail.
On the other hand, the Commission did not authorise:
- a special tax regime applicable to treasury centres in France which do not abide by the rules;
- a tax system of the Trieste Financial Centre that it no longer considers to be conform.
The Commission also called upon Germany to reduce the amount of aid to the building of a new BMW plant in Leipzig. Germany may grant a maximum of EUR 363 million.