STRASBOURG, July 20 (AFP) - The European Commission said Tuesday it was demanding that telecommunications operator France Telecom reimburse the French state between 800 million (990 million dollars) and 1.1 billion euros, plus interest, for tax benefits the company was considered to have received.
The commission said in a statement that the tax waiver enjoyed by France Telecom until the end of 2002 "constituted aid that was incompatible" with EU competition rules.
"The exact amount of the aid will be determined by the commission in the framework of a reimbursement procedure," it added.
The EU executive arm decided not to seek reimbursement for a further nine billion euros that the state made available to France Telecom in 2002, noting that it was the first time it had to consider such assistance.
The case of France Telecom is just one of a string of disputes between the commission and France over competition issues and state aid.
On Friday, France Telecom denied it had received any state aid and said it would appeal if the commission ruled it did receive aid and order it make repayments.