EU examining Nissan UK investment deal

EU regulators are taking a closer look at an investment deal between Britain and Japanese auto maker Nissan that keeps production of two key models in the UK despite Brexit. "We have seen press reports regarding this issue. As a result, the Commission at services level is in contact with the UK authorities," an EU spokesman told AFP on Monday.
"Such exchanges of information are common," the spokesman said, adding that the EU had "not taken any formal views on the matter." Nissan announced in October it will build its new Qashqai sport utility vehicle and its next four-wheel drive X-Trail model at its plant in Sunderland, north-east England, which eased concerns about Brexit's impact on the country's industry.
But British Business Minister Greg Clark caused a media firestorm after confirming that the government made several assurances to Nissan before the announcement. He has refused to reveal the letter detailing the assurances. Under EU law, which Britain is still subject to despite the June 23 Brexit vote, subsidies or assurances to favoured companies can amount to illegal state aid. Clark said the pledges included that Britain would seek to maintain a free trade relationship with the EU after it completes two years of divorce negotiations with the bloc.
But the rest of Europe says that is not possible unless London also maintains the EU's free movement of people to Britain, something British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out. Clark denied reports that the assurances to Nissan included an offer of financial compensation or state subsidies in case of problems in the Brexit talks. Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn had warned before the deal that the company needed guarantees from London over Britain's vote to exit the European Union before it could commit to further investment at the factory in Sunderland. Sunderland is Britain's biggest car factory and the group's largest facility in Europe, employing more than 7,000 workers and tens of thousands more through the supply chain.