State aid Modernisation
Changing the balance
of State aid control
Northern Ireland State aid
Awareness Seminar
16 September 2014
DG Competition
Miek Van der Wee
European Commission
DG Competition
SAM – Main drivers
■ Europe 2020: Targeting EU policies at fostering smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth
■ Economic & financial crisis  Enforcement challenges
►
Need to modernise rules to protect effectiveness of SA
policy (faster decision making, focus on most distortive aid,
strengthen economic reasoning, …)
►
Budgetary constraints: Focus on quality public expenditure
■ Expiry of SA instruments in 2013 (GBER, guidelines)
■ New programming cycle for ESI Funds
DG Competition
SAM – Main objectives
■ Foster growth in a competitive internal market
►
Facilitate the granting of “good aid” (Europe 2020)
►
Discourage ineffective or counter-productive aid
■ Focus enforcement on cases with biggest impact
►
Less ex ante control of potentially less distortive aid
►
Emphasis on ex post monitoring, evaluation & transparency
■ Streamline rules and speed up decisions
►
Simplification and harmonisation of rules
►
Improvement of procedures
DG Competition
SAM – Building blocks
Notice on notion of aid
SAM Principles
 Clarification &
simplification
 Common
compatibility criteria
 Strengthened
partnership with MS
Review De Minimis Reg.
New Enabling Regulation
New GBER
Review major guidelines
Review Procedural Reg.
DG Competition
SAM – Legislative programme - 1
Legal instruments
Procedural Regulation
OJ 31/07/2013
Enabling Regulation
OJ 22/07/2013
De Minimis Regulation
OJ 24/12/2013
General Block Exemption Regulation
OJ 17/06/2014
Broadband guidelines
OJ 26/01/2013
Regional aid guidelines
OJ 23/07/2013
Short term credit
OJ 19/12/2012
Cinema
OJ 15/11/2013
Risk finance
OJ 15/01/2014
DG Competition
SAM – Legislative programme - 2
Legal instruments
Airports and airlines
OJ 04/04/2014
Energy & Environment
OJ 28/06/2014
R&D&I
OJ 27/06/2014
Important Projects of Common EU Interest
OJ 20/06/2014
Rescue & restructuring
OJ 31/07/2014
Evaluation (Staff paper)
28/05/2014
Transparency (Communication)
21/05/2014
Notion of aid
For overview of all revised SAM texts:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/modernisation/index_en .html
DG Competition
Impact 1: Facilitate granting "good aid"
notified
(guidelines/Treaty)
Still to be
notified
(guidelines/Treaty)
(aid amount)
GBER extension
(notification & intensity threshold)
GBER extension
Notified aid
Exemption
areas
GBER
extension
(new types and
categories)
Block-exempted
•De minimis
De Minimis
Type of aid
7
DG Competition
Impact 1: Facilitate granting "good aid"
New categories of aid brought under GBER:
■
■
■
■
■
■
Aid to compensate natural disaster damage
Operating aid in remote & in sparsely populated areas
Individual regional aid measures
Aid for urban development projects in assisted regions
Aid for broadband infrastructure
Aid for start-ups, for SME financing, for innovation clusters &
research infrastructure
■ Aid for culture and heritage conservation, for sport and
multifunctional recreational facilities
■ Aid for the remediation of contaminated sites
■ Aid for renewables and district
heating ….
DG Competition
Impact 1: Facilitate granting "good aid"
2/3 aid amounts and 3/4 aid measures could be "GBER-ised'
Aid amounts
Aid measures
DG Competition
Impact 2: Stricter control of "bad aid"
Assessment of potentially more distortive types of aid on
the basis of "common assessment criteria":
►
contribution to a well-defined objective of common interest
►
need for state intervention
►
appropriateness of the aid measure
►
incentive effect
►
proportionality of the aid (aid limited to the minimum
necessary)
►
avoidance of undue negative effects on competition and
trade between Member States
DG Competition
Impact 3: Ex Ante  Ex Post
 Transparency
■ Smaller proportion of aid will be
scrutinised by EC
►
Aid under GBER
►
Awards under approved aid schemes
■ Shift from ex ante control to :
►
Ex Post Evaluation
►
Ex Post Monitoring
►
Transparency
DG Competition
Impact 3: Ex Post - Evaluation
■ Purpose:
Monitoring
Evaluation
Improve quality of public
expenditure
■ Scope: Large schemes
■ Evaluation questions:
Implementation
►
Did the aid alter behaviour of
beneficiaries?
►
Were the objectives of the
aid achieved?
Design
Assessment
and approval
■ Independent evaluator
DG Competition
Impact 3: Ex post - Monitoring
■ Ex Post Monitoring since 2006
►
221 schemes monitored
►
28% of monitored schemes found to be problematic
■ Widening of GBER will be accompanied by increased
monitoring efforts
DG Competition
Impact 3: Ex Post - Transparency
■ Purpose:
►
Improve accountability of public spending
►
Promote compliance (enables firms to verify legality of aid
granted to competitors)
■ Publication on Central/Regional website of
►
Full text of aid scheme or aid granting decision
►
Identity of granting authority
►
Info on individual aid awards > € 500,000:
Identity of beneficiary, aid amount, date of granting, NUTS 3
region, NACE code
DG Competition
Impact 4: New Partnership with MS
■ Extension of GBER  Increased responsibility for MS
►
Implementation aid measures without ex ante control by EC
►
Need to ensure effective control at national level
■ Strengthen EC-MS partnership
►
Country Coordinator Network in COMP
►
High level Country visits  Portfolio approach
►
Guidance on new rules via share platform ECN-ET
►
High Level Forum + Working Groups
●
WG on SAM implementation (GBER, Best Practices…))
●
WGs on specific topics (EEAG)
DG Competition
Thank you
Any questions?
DG Competition