Wednesday, 23 September 2009 12:25
Poland has won approval from the European Commission for its plan to grant €54.5m in aid for a factory to which US company Dell is moving production from Ireland.
After an in-depth investigation, the EU competition authority said the aid was compatible with the bloc's rules, despite protests from Ireland, where Dell is closing its factory in Limerick.
The Polish plant, located in the unemployment-hit central city of Lodz, is to employ up to 3,000 people to produce desktops, notebooks and servers.
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'Our assessment shows that the project's contribution to regional development and job creation in a disadvantaged region of Poland outweighs any potential negative effects', EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
'For cases like this, which could present a high risk of distorting competition and where job losses in other member states have been pointed to, we need to conduct a detailed economic analysis of the market and of the impact of the aid before taking a decision', she added.
Early this year, Dell said it was relocating its European manufacturing from Limerick to Lodz with the loss of 1,900 jobs.
The Commission said its investigation had shown that job losses in Ireland would not be a consequence of the aid granted by the Polish authorities to the Lodz factory.
Poland has won approval from the European Commission for its plan to grant €54.5m in aid for a factory to which US company Dell is moving production from Ireland.
After an in-depth investigation, the EU competition authority said the aid was compatible with the bloc's rules, despite protests from Ireland, where Dell is closing its factory in Limerick.
The Polish plant, located in the unemployment-hit central city of Lodz, is to employ up to 3,000 people to produce desktops, notebooks and servers.
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'Our assessment shows that the project's contribution to regional development and job creation in a disadvantaged region of Poland outweighs any potential negative effects', EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
'For cases like this, which could present a high risk of distorting competition and where job losses in other member states have been pointed to, we need to conduct a detailed economic analysis of the market and of the impact of the aid before taking a decision', she added.
Early this year, Dell said it was relocating its European manufacturing from Limerick to Lodz with the loss of 1,900 jobs.
The Commission said its investigation had shown that job losses in Ireland would not be a consequence of the aid granted by the Polish authorities to the Lodz factory.
