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Commission simplifies rules for aid and introduces new possibilities

Commission simplifies rules for aid and introduces new possibilities
23 July 2021

The European Commission adopted today an extension of the scope of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), which will allow the Member States to implement certain aid measures without prior Commission scrutiny. The revised rules concern: (i) aid granted by national authorities for projects funded via certain EU centrally managed programmes under the new Multiannual Financial Framework; and (ii) certain State aid measures that to support the green and digital transition and are, at the same time, relevant for the recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Exempting such aid from prior notification is a major simplification, which facilitates a quick implementation of such measures by Member States, where conditions limiting the distortion of competition in the Single Market are met.

With the aim of improving the interplay between EU funding rules and EU State aid rules under the new Multiannual Financial Framework, the Commission streamlines the State aid rules applicable to national funding of projects or financial products, which fall under the scope of certain recently adopted EU programmes. With the amendments introduced today to the GBER, the rules on EU funding and State aid rules applicable to these types of funding have been aligned to avoid unnecessary complexities, while at the same time preserving competition in the EU Single Market.

The concerned national funds are those relating to:

  1. Financing and investment operations supported by the InvestEU Fund;
  2. Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) projects having received a “Seal of Excellence” under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, as well as co-funded research and development projects or Teaming actions under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe;
  3. European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) projects, also known as Interreg.

With today's amendment of the GBER, these measures can now be directly implemented by Member States without having to be notified to the Commission, which only has to be informed ex-post. Exempting aid in these areas from the obligation of prior notification is possible thanks to the safeguards embedded in EU programmes managed centrally by the Commission. In particular, the support granted in the context of these programmes: (i) targets a common interest objective; (ii) addresses a market failure or socio-economic cohesion objectives; and (iii) is limited to the minimum amount necessary.

In addition, the Commission creates even further possibilities for Member States to provide aid needed for the twin transition in a way that will also allow them to rapidly support companies in need of funding to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new aid categories that will be exempted from the notification obligation fall under policy areas, which are top priorities for the twin transition. Aid provided in these areas will also support the recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis and will ensure that this recovery will contribute to the transition to a green and digital economy. The relevant categories of aid are:

  1. Aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings;
  2. Aid for recharging and refuelling infrastructure for low emission road vehicles;
  3. Aid for fixed broadband networks, 4G and 5G mobile networks, certain trans-European digital connectivity infrastructure projects and certain vouchers.

Image © European Commission, 2021

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