State aid rules: new categories of State aid

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted the report by Sander LOONES (ECR, BE) on the proposal for a Council regulation amending 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.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament approve the Commission proposal without amendments.

This proposal to amend the EU State aid Enabling Regulation aims to improve the interplay of those EU funding programmes with State aid rules. It will enable the Commission to make targeted modifications to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) so that nationally managed funds and centrally managed EU funds can be combined as smoothly as possible, without distorting competition in the Single market.

As indicated in the explanatory statement accompanying the report, the Commission proposal to include two new categories in the Enabling Regulation (national funds combined with EU centrally managed funds; and projects by EU European Territorial Cooperation programmes) with a view to amend the GBER will contribute to administrative simplification.

The rapporteur considered that it makes sense not to subject projects and funding approved by the Commission based on other rules, which also aim to avoid distortions of competition in the Single market, to additional checks under State aid rules.