Press Release: State aid: Commission approves aid to OTE’s early retirement scheme

The European Commission has closed an in-depth investigation concluding that the Greek's government planned contribution to the Hellenic Telecommunication Operator's (OTE) voluntary early retirement scheme (VRS) is compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules. The Greek government's transfer of 4% of its shares in OTE to the OTE pension fund aims at relieving OTE from extra costs resulting mainly from the quasi-civil-servant status of OTE’s employees. The Commission's decision is based on the Greek government's explicit commitment that the value of the shares to be transferred to TAP, the pension fund by which OTE employees are insured, will not exceed the extra costs of the VRS, estimated at €390.4 million.