§ Mr. IllsleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations his Department has made to the European Commission in respect of the repayment of illegal subsidies to Belgium by the Belgian company Beaulieu and its subsidiary Fabelta; and what level of repayment has been made to date.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe Government have raised the question of the repayment of the aid paid illegally to Fabelta on a number of occasions with the European Commission since the ruling of the European Court of Justice in February 1990 that the aid should be repaid and has pressed them to secure compliance. Following the judgment in the Gent commercial court against the company the Belgian Government should now be taking steps to recover all the aid.