Categories of State aid exempted from notification

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2015/1588 — the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain types of state aid

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

• It enables the European Commission to adopt regulations to exempt certain categories of state aid from the general obligation to first notify the Commission for its approval.
• It replaces — as of 14 October 2015 — Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to certain categories of horizontal State aid (i.e. state aid that applies to all industries rather than to a selected one).

KEY POINTS

• In general, any state aid measures granted by EU countries to companies must be notified to the Commission for prior approval.
• This regulation allows the Commission to adopt regulations — known as block exemption regulations — declaring certain categories of aid to be compatible with Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU and thus exempt from the normal requirement to notify.
• The categories of exempted aid include funding provided by EU centrally managed financial instruments and projects supported by EU Territorial Cooperation programmes.
• For each category of exempted aid, the regulation must include certain basic information including the purpose of the aid and the beneficiaries.
• Certain types of aid may also be exempted from the usual State aid notification requirements provided the aid to the company in question over a given period of time does not exceed a specified fixed amount — the so-called de minimis rule.
• EU countries have to guarantee the transparency and monitoring of the exempted aid. This includes publication on the Commission website of the aid in question and the submission by the EU country to the Commission of an annual report on the application of the aid.
• The regulation allowing the exemption must apply for a specified period only. This may be amended if any of the circumstances giving rise to the exemption have changed significantly.
• Before the Commission adopts a regulation granting an exemption, it must first publish a draft to allow interested parties to submit comments.
• The regulation provides for the setting up of an Advisory Committee on State Aid composed of representatives from EU countries and chaired by the Commission. The Commission must consult the Committee when it publishes a draft regulation exempting any category of aid and also before final adoption of the regulation.

FROM WHEN DOES THIS REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 14 October 2015.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• State aid legislation (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1588 of 13 July 2015 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of horizontal State aid (OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, pp. 1-8)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2015/1588 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

last update 21.06.2019