Brussels, 06/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - At the end of April, EDF submitted an appeal to the European Court of Justice against the European Commission's decision of last December, which required State aid to a total approaching 1.2 billion EUR to be paid back. When asked about this, spokesperson Tilman Lueder said only that "we welcome the opportunity to clarify various essential points of our proceedings in newly liberalised markets". EDF feels that the Commission's decision had "a disproportionately negative impact on the financial situation of the company just as it is making substantial efforts to adapt to an environment of competition". As a reminder, on 16 December the Commission adopted a decision in three parts against EDF, calling for an end to the unlimited State guarantee (1), a reform of its pension system (2) and a reimbursement of the fiscal advantages granted to it in 1997 (3). On the pensions, the Commission has already approved the reform plans proposed by the French government, and, on removing the unlimited State guarantee, France has decided to end this by transforming the EDF statute, which it is currently doing, changing it from a public establishment of an industrial and commercial nature to a PLC under common law. It is the repayment of State aid granted in 1997 that poses a problem to EDF (see EUROPE of 17 December, p.9).