German aid of Nuerburgring race track illegal - EU Commission
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - State aid given to developers at German race track Nuerburgring was in breach of European Union rules and must be paid back, the EU Commission said on Wednesday.
Developers at the track were given 456 million euros (354.98 million pounds) between 2002 and 2012 to develop the site, mainly by the state of Rhineland Palatinate.
As the companies operating the site were in financial difficulties, motor sport industry supplier Capricorn Group bought the track for more than 100 million euros in March of 2014.
The Commission, which acts as the 28-member bloc's competition watchdog, said that as the sale was transparent, the new owners were not liable for paying back the aid.
The aid needed to be paid back in line with national insolvency procedures, the EU Commission said.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Adrian Croft)
