Brussels, 20/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - Convinced that it has fulfilled the conditions defined in the rules on State Aid on R&D, the European Commission has decided to not raise any objection to the support regime put in place by France and managed by the French Industrial Innovation Agency in favour of mobilisation support programmes for industrial innovation (a system that receives an annual budget of €1 bn). However, aid of more than €5 bn for funding programmes that receive more than €25 million should be notified for individual examination by the Commission before being granted. Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for Competition pointed out in a press release that the Commission would particularly verify that support for programmes by the Industrial Innovation Agency is not done to the detriment of other European competitors. Last August the agency aimed to select, fund and evaluate major strategic programmes linking, under the impetus of the main industrial companies, SMEs and research laboratories. These programmes need investments worth hundreds of millions of Euro and should include a significant innovation component, characterised by the introduction of scientific novelties, integration of several complex technologies and the creation of a new hi-tech product or service for the next 5-10 years.