Brussels, 27/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided that the implementation criteria for aid measures granted by the Province of Bolzano in Italy were contrary to EC Treaty state aid rules. In a press release Neelie Kroes commented: “With this decision, the Commission has underlined Member States' obligation to comply with EU state aid rules, while at the same time signalling our readiness to work with them to reinforce the application of these rules throughout the EU”. Provincial Law n° 4/97 was cleared by the Commission in 1997 as a compatible state aid scheme. However, the aid measures it contained were later implemented through criteria adopted without prior notification to the Commission. The illegal aid granted on the basis of these criteria was therefore declared illegal and will have to be paid back. The Commission, nevertheless, approved other implementation criteria that conform to current rules