The European Commission will formally investigate possible state aid granted to Automobile Craiova in Romania for its privatisation and subsequent sale to Ford in September.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to Thomson Financial, the commission has ordered Romania to suspend the granting of any aid until it decides whether it complies with EU rules.
Specifically, the Romanian authorities attached conditions to the privatisation that requires the plant to produce a minimum of 200,000 cars a year by the fourth year of privatisiation and the maintenance of all former employees. If this resulted in a lower sale price it could constitute state aid.
“The commission fully supports Romania in its privatisation policy,” said EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes. “However, we have to ensure an open and transparent privatisation process free of unlawful state aid. In this particular case, I have concerns that the state aid rules might have been breached.”
