Press Release: State aid: Commission approves restructuring of Belgian insurance company Ethias

The European Commission approved on 20 May 2010 under EU state aid rules a €1.5 billion recapitalisation provided by Belgium in the context of the restructuring of Ethias, a Belgian insurer that ran into severe difficulties in 2008, in the wake of the financial crisis. The Commission concluded that Ethias' restructuring plan provides for appropriate measures to restore the company's viability, while addressing competition distortions brought about by the state support. In order to finance the costs of the restructuring by its own means to the furthest extent possible, Ethias will sell or wind down its retail life insurance business and a number of other assets. The Commission is therefore satisfied that the restructuring plan is in line with its Communication on restructuring in the financial sector during the crisis (see IP/09/1180) and as such is compatible with Article 107.3.b of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).