European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes has asked the Dutch, Belgian and Luxemburg governments for more information about their rescue of financial services group Fortis, it emerged at the weekend.

At the end of September, the three governments pumped €11.2bn into the company. A week later, the Netherlands took over Fortis Nederland for €17bn.
Under EU law, state support for industry is illegal apart from in emergencies. A Brussels insider told tv show RTLZ that Kroes would give her approval to the rescue package. ‘She is not looking for a clash,’ the source said.