Press Release: State Aid – Belgium: Funding of TSE tests for bovines in 2003-04 partly unlawful

The European Commission has decided that the aid given by Belgium to fund screening tests for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) for bovines between 1 January 2003 and 30 June 2004 was not compatible with the rules on State aid in agriculture. This aid should be recovered from the beneficiaries. The total to be recovered amounts to EUR 6.6 million, not including interest.