(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission launched on Wednesday a probe into Spanish state aid for a film studio to determine whether the support gives the complex an unfair edge over competitors.

The investigation targets the Ciudad de la Luz, or City of Light, complex near Alicante southern Spain, in which the Valencia regional government has invested 200 million euros (292 million dollars).

The studio, which is also owned by the Valencia government, opened in 2005 and French comedy "Asterix and the Olympic Games" was shot there, according to the commission.

EU competition regulators opened the illegal state aid probe after receiving complaints from "two major players in the European film sector," which the commission did not name.

"The commission is concerned that the substantial public funding may have allowed the Ciudad de la Luz complex to distort fair competition in the European market for film studio facilities," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.

The commission said that Spanish authorities had argued that the public support did not constitute state aid because it had been made on the same terms as a private investor.

The European Union's executive arm bears responsibility for policing state aid in Europe to make sure that it does not stifle competition with in the EU's single market.

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