Brussels, 30/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Würzburg, Germany, on 27 April, Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes laid emphasis on the approach of the Commission to state aid. “The less spent [on state aid], the better”, said the commissioner, if the objective is to avoid competition distortions. But a source close to the dossier indicated that several of those taking part in the informal meeting, including the representative of the German presidency, took position in favour of a more liberal regime, particularly concerning aid to face competition from third countries. Ms Kroes refuted this position, referring to the inequalities that such aid can cause within the Union, the risk of a “damaging subsidy war” between the member states, and the real threat of litigation at the WTO against these practices.
Ms Kroes' preferred method would rather be to create fair international competition conditions by exporting to third countries the European practice of limiting state aid. She stressed her very close collaboration with Commissioner Peter Mandelson on this dossier. (cd)