Transcript State Aid Modernisation

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
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Need to modernise rules to protect effectiveness of SA
policy (faster decision making, focus on most distortive aid,
strengthen economic reasoning, …)
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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
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Facilitate the granting of “good aid” (Europe 2020)
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Discourage ineffective or counter-productive aid
■ Focus enforcement on cases with biggest impact
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Less ex ante control of potentially less distortive aid
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Emphasis on ex post monitoring, evaluation & transparency
■ Streamline rules and speed up decisions
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Simplification and harmonisation of rules
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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
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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":
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contribution to a well-defined objective of common interest
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need for state intervention
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appropriateness of the aid measure
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incentive effect
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proportionality of the aid (aid limited to the minimum
necessary)
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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
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Aid under GBER
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Awards under approved aid schemes
■ Shift from ex ante control to :
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Ex Post Evaluation
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Ex Post Monitoring
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Transparency
DG Competition
Impact 3: Ex Post - Evaluation
■ Purpose:
Monitoring
Evaluation
Improve quality of public
expenditure
■ Scope: Large schemes
■ Evaluation questions:
Implementation
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Did the aid alter behaviour of
beneficiaries?
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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
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221 schemes monitored
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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:
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Improve accountability of public spending
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Promote compliance (enables firms to verify legality of aid
granted to competitors)
■ Publication on Central/Regional website of
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Full text of aid scheme or aid granting decision
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Identity of granting authority
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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
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Implementation aid measures without ex ante control by EC
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Need to ensure effective control at national level
■ Strengthen EC-MS partnership
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Country Coordinator Network in COMP
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High level Country visits  Portfolio approach
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Guidance on new rules via share platform ECN-ET
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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