The European Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes, is optimistic about a new restructuring plan for the shipyard in the Polish city of Gdansk. She expects the shipyard will now remain viable with minimum state aid.

The issue of state aid for Polish shipyards has caused considerable controversy in recent months. Last year, Brussels told Poland that the aid it had received for two other shipyards would have to be paid back. The sum in question was 1.7 billion euros.

In the late 1980s, the Gdansk shipyard was the breeding ground for the Solidarity trade union, led by Lech Walewsa, which helped bring about the downfall of Poland's communist regime.