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State aid ModernisationChanging the balance

of State aid control

Miek Van der WeeEuropean CommissionDG Competition

Northern Ireland State aid Awareness Seminar16 September 2014

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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

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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

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SAM – Building blocks

Notice on notion of aid

Review De Minimis Reg.

New Enabling RegulationNew GBER

Review major guidelines

Review Procedural Reg.

SAM Principles Clarification &

simplification Common

compatibility criteria Strengthened

partnership with MS

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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

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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

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notified (guidelines/Treaty)

7

Still to be notified (guidelines/Treaty)

Exemption areas

GBER extension(new types and categories)

GBER extension(notification & intensity threshold) GBER extension

Type of aid

(a

id a

mo

un

t)

Notified aid

Block-exempted

•De minimis

De Minimis

Impact 1: Facilitate granting "good aid"

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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 ….

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Impact 1: Facilitate granting "good aid"

Aid amounts Aid measures

2/3 aid amounts and 3/4 aid measures could be "GBER-ised'

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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

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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

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Impact 3: Ex Post - Evaluation

■ Purpose:

Improve quality of public expenditure

■ Scope: Large schemes

■ Evaluation questions:► Did the aid alter behaviour of

beneficiaries?

► Were the objectives of the aid achieved?

■ Independent evaluator

Assessment and approval

Design

Evaluation

Monitoring

Implemen-tation

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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

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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

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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)

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Thank youAny questions?