EU competition regulators gave their approval Wednesday to French state-guaranteed loans to Finnish power company TVO to pay for the construction of a nuclear power plant by French company Areva.
After an in-depth competition probe, the European Commission ruled that the loan guarantees did not break EU state-aid rules because they were deemed to give no advantage to TVO over its competitors.
Europe's top competition watchdog found that the cost of the guaranteed loans were not below the cost for loans on the market.
Areva, along with German engineering conglomerate Siemens, have been building a new reactor for TVO, the first in the world to use third-generation technology.
It was initially due to be operational in mid-2009 but has been plagued by delays and is now more than 18 months behind schedule.
Third-generation technology provides greater energy, improved security and reduced waste compared to earlier versions of nuclear reactors, but the project has faced protests by environmentalists.
As the guardian of fair competition in Europe, the European Commission is responsible for policing state aid to make sure that it does not give companies unfair advantages.
