EU nations grant 62 bn euros as industry aid
Government subsidies to industry in the European Union last year reached 62 billion euros ($73 billion), or 0.6% of gross domestic product, which the EU’s competition chief called disappointing. The European Commission didn’t provide comparative figures for 2003 as the EU added 10 countries from eastern and southern Europe in May 2004. The average annual amount of aid between 2002 and 2004 was 49 billion euros. ‘‘I am disappointed that the overall level of aid in the EU has not fallen,’’ European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement on Friday. The EU’s goal of reducing aid has not yet been met, she said.In 2004, Germany granted the most aid at 17 billion euros, followed by France with 9 billion euros and Italy with 7 billion euros. As a percentage of GDP, state subsidies increased in France following the government’s bailout of Alstom SA, a maker of high-speed trains and turbines. The commission wants subsidies to be redirected to the bloc’s poorest regions. Aid should be granted to help the environment and to boost innovation, the regulator said.
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