The European Commission’s relaxed state aid rules intended to enable EU states to respond to multiple crises need better checks, an audit published on Wednesday said. Financial interventions by national governments in favour of certain companies are generally prohibited in the European Union as they risk distorting competition within the bloc and its economically diverse 27 members. But as the EU faces consecutive crises, the commission has repeatedly allowed governments to support businesses which are struggling financially. In its report, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) warned that the …