The European Commission on Thursday approved emergency aid worth 10 billion euros (US$13.4 billion) by the Dutch government to the troubled bank and insurance group ING.

The Commission, the European Union (EU)'s competition guardian, said the measure was in line with EU rules on state aid to overcome the current financial crisis.

"The measure constitutes an adequate means to remedy a serious disturbance in the Dutch economy while avoiding undue distortions of competition and is therefore compatible" with EU rules, the Commission said in a statement.

The Dutch government announced last month it would recapitalize ING with 10 billion euros via a special type of securities, which would produce an expected return in excess of 10 percent. In the event that ING decides to repurchase the securities, the Dutch government will receive 150 percent of the issue price.

The Commission said that in the current economic climate, even fundamentally sound institutions like ING may experience distress and are required to reassure financial markets of their stability.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2008)