St Bernard for Rover

An interesting article in the Times today £100m sweetener to save Rover's Chinese rescue This last-minute move from the Department of Trade and Industry has sparked accusations that taxpayers’ money is being used to shore up Labour’s vote in key seats. I am just wondering how Hewitt and Prescott are going to square the EU circle.

Article 87 of the EC Treaty prohibits any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain firms or the production of certain goods. The aid in question can take a variety of forms as, for instance:

state grants;
interest relief;
tax relief;
state guarantee or holding;
provision by the state of goods and services on preferential terms