Commission may re-examine stance on Intel grant aid

THE vice-president of the European Commission yesterday gave an undertaking to follow up with the Competition Commission on its stand that forced the Government to withdraw an estimated €100m grant to Intel.

Swedish commissioner Margot Wallström told the Dáil Committee on European Affairs that Ireland deserved a more elaborate reply as to why the competition commissioner believed the Intel grant was not allowable under state aid rules.

She said she would seek a "new answer" from the competition commissioner, as it may fall within the debate taking place about the rules and how they should be revised.