EU state aid summary

With EU member states’ aids to financial institutions and public deficits going through the roof, the Commission has published a timely reminder of other existing devices for state aid to undertakings.

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I want to thank the Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog for drawing my attention to the overview:

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/antitrustprof_blog/2008/10/state-aid-what.html

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The European Commission has published a handy summary of permitted forms of state aid to companies, ‘State aid: what is possible under EU rules – an overview’ (28 October 2008, MEMO/08/659):

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/659&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Short sections of the memo deal with the following state aid categories or instruments (with further references):

1. The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
2. Aid for Research and Development and Innovation (R&D&I)
3. Aid for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
4. Employment Aid
5. Training Aid
6. Risk Capital Measures
7. The De Minimis Rule

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The memo is a convenient recap for officials dealing with state aid and for students who want a quick overview of what Articles 87 to 89 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) mean in practice.


Ralf Grahn