The European Commission ordered the Dutch government on Thursday to recover 76.3 million euros (96.1 million dollars) in aid paid to NOS, the umbrella organisation of state broadcasters.

The commission, which polices competition issues in the EU, said the payments made between 1994 and 2005 exceeded the needs of broadcasters for public service purposes and led to NOS building up financial reserves.

"Excess compensation unnecessarily distorts competition and allows the public service broadcasters to operate in commercial markets on more favourable grounds than competitors that do not receive state aid," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who is Dutch.

EU regulators opened an investigation in February 2005 after commercial broadcasters and other media undertakings raised concerns about funding for Dutch public service broadcasters.

They found that NOS had received total overcompensation of 76.3 million euros in the period under investigation.

In addition to the money to be recovered by the government, commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said that state broadcasters would also have to pay four million euros in interest.

Todd said that the commission also had probes into state broadcasters in Germany and Ireland.