U.S. Ford To Pay Back Romania EUR27M State Aid By Jun 26

"AVAS decided Tuesday that the deadline for Ford to pay back the EUR27 million considered illegal state aid by European authorities is June 26," Laszlo Gyerko, AVAS vice-president and member in the Automobile Craiova privatization committee, told MEDIAFAX Wednesday.

He added the written notice would be sent to Ford this week. The notice will be sent to Ford Motor Company, Ford Europe, Daewoo Automobile Romania and Automobile Craiova, AVAS said in a statement.

AVAS also said it would notify the European Commission of the deadlines stipulated in the aid recovery decision.

Ford bought a 72.4% stake in Automobile Craiova for EUR57 million.

In fall last year, when the privatization contract was signed, the European Commission launched a probe into the deal to see if any illegal state aid had been granted to Ford.

The Commission ordered the Romanian government to recover an illegal EUR27 million state aid from Automobile Craiova. The Commission accused Romania of underselling Craiova to Ford, but allowed the sale to go through provided the state aid is paid back.