Brussels, 24/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to open a formal investigation procedure against the restructuring plan for the Bank Burgenland AG. The restructuring plan is intended to restore the long-term viability of the bank after a case of fraud discovered in 1999. It includes above all long-term guarantees that the regional government of Burgenland intends to grant to the Bank. The Commission wishes to ensure that the measures foreseen fully comply with the Community guidelines for rescue aid and restructuring of companies in difficulty, and above all that they effectively restore the viability of the bank in the long term. This procedure comes within the Commission's objective to reduce if not abolish the public guarantees granted to the financial sector. A negative decision has already been taken against the German Landesbanken as well as the French Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.