The European Commission said today it had withdrawn a press release on a decision on state aid for France Telecom that was issued by mistake.
The statement was handed out to reporters in Strasbourg, where the EU executive is meeting to decide on action against the French state-controlled telecoms giant, but a spokesman for Competition Commissioner Mr Mario Monti said it was outdated and contained erroneous information.
The Commission was to decide on whether a €9 billion state credit line opened for France Telecom constituted illegal state aid and whether any of it should be have to be reimbursed.
It was also due to decide whether the company must repay illegal state aid for unpaid taxes between 1994 and 2002.