16/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Enquiry into Belgian funding for Duferco. On Wednesday 16 October, the European Commission launched an in-depth enquiry to determine whether the €517 million funding granted since 2003 to steel group Duferco by the Walloon region of Belgium complies with the European Union's state aid rules. In 2003, Société Wallonne de Gestion et de Participations (SOGEPA), a company fully owned by the Walloon region, set up Foreign Strategic Investments Holding (FSIH) with a view to investing in the companies belonging to the Duferco group. Duferco is based in Switzerland and only has one plant left in Belgium following closure of the La Louvière site in the spring of 2013. At this stage, the Commission plans to verify whether these investments, which were not notified to it in advance, were made in conformity with prevailing market conditions. (MB/transl.fl)