Brussels, 18/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - During a meeting with Commissioner Monti, Spanish Minister for the Economy Rodrigo Rato demonstrated his wish to see the EU allow the Spanish government to implement, to the benefit of the shipbuilding sector, the temporary defence mechanism (TDM) adopted last year by the EU Council of Ministers to offset the unfair practices of South Korean shipyards, the Spanish agency, EFE, reports. The TDM, already authorised for Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, is still being studied for Spain and France. Mr Rato hopes the maximum amount of Spanish aid will cover 6% of the total cost of projects envisaged by the shipyards, able to prove that they are facing unfair competition from their South Korean rivals, spokesperson Tilman Lüder explained. The latter specified that the Spanish authorities had notified the Commission of the national framework that they were contemplating but that the project was still to receive Community endorsement.