EU: Former Operator of Portugal Shipyard Must Repay Aid
The former operator of Portugal's largest shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo (ENVC) must pay back around 290 million euros ($329.79 million) in public support, the European Commission said on Thursday.
It said the new operator WestSea did not need to pay the money as it purchased the assets at market conditions and there was no "economic continuity" between ENVC and WestSea, owned by Martifer and Navalria.
On the basis of an in-depth investigation opened in 2013, the Commission found that no private investor would have subsidised a loss-making company for 13 years.
The roughly 290 million euros were therefore illegal state aid and had to be repaid.
Reporting by Barbara Lewis