EU says Fortis rescue shows regulatory system works

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Monday that a weekend rescue of financial services group Fortis by the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments showed that cross-border regulation works in the European Union.

A Commission spokesman said the governments' injection of 11.2 billion euros ($16.39 billion) via an equity stake appeared to be based on market rates, but some accompanying measures might constitute state aid and require Commission approval.

"What we saw this weekend is that the system works, and it works both nationally and also trans-nationally," chief Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said.

(reporting by Mark John, writing by Paul Taylor)