EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, XXX
[…](2022) XXX draft
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…
of XXX
amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible
with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty
(Text with EEA relevance)
EN EN
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…
of XXX
amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible
with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular
Article 108(4) thereof,
Having regard to 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 1, and in particular Article 1(1), points (a) and (b), thereof,
After consulting the Advisory Committee on State aid,
Whereas:
(1) Transparency of State aid is essential for the correct application of Treaty rules and
leads to better compliance, greater accountability, peer review and ultimately more
effective public spending. Given the importance of transparency and, in particular, to
align the publication thresholds in this Regulation with the new thresholds laid down
in all recently revised Commission State aid Guidelines and Frameworks, the
threshold above which the information referred to in Annex III on individual aid
awards must be published should be set at EUR 100 000. This threshold should
correspond to EUR 10 000 for beneficiaries active in primary agricultural production
and for beneficiaries active in the fishery and aquaculture sector, other than those to
which Section 2a applies, and EUR 500 000 for aid involved in in financial products
supported by the InvestEU fund under Section 16. For individual aid exceeding these
thresholds, the information referred to in Annex III needs to be published wihin 6
months from the date the aid is granted. For aid not exceeding these thresholds, the
information laid down in Article 9, paragraph 1, points (a) and (b) can take place at a
later point in time.
(2) Following the adoption of the revised Guidelines on regional State aid for the period
from 1 January 2022 2, definitions and Articles related to regional aid in Commission
Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 3 should be aligned to ensure consistency between the
different sets of rules targeting the same objectives. Section 1 of Chapter III of
Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should also be adjusted to take into account changes in
1
OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 1.
2
Communication from the Commission, ‘Guidelines on regional State aid’, C(2021) 2594 (OJ C 153,
29.4.2021, p. 1).
3
Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid
compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (OJ L 187,
26.6.2014, p. 1).
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the market and the Green deal 4 and the European Climate Law objectives set out in
Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council.5
Operating aid to prevent and reduce depopulation should be extended to sparsely
populated areas, in order to facilitate better support in areas facing demographic
challenges. To facilitate the application of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 for aided
projects below EUR 50 million carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises
(‘SMEs’), the notification thresholds should be adjusted accordingly and clarified.
(3) In line with the objectives of the SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe 6,
the Commission would like to clarify that State aid granted for consultancy for SMEs
may be granted in the form of vouchers, for instance to promote green consultancy
services. Furthermore, when granting State aid, Member States may decide to apply
simplified rules to SMEs with a view to reducing the administrative burden and
facilitating the participation of SMEs in competitive bidding procedures.
(4) According to the Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future and on a
European Strategy for Data there is a need to ensure that digital solutions help Europe
to pursue its own way towards a digital transformation that works for the benefit of
people through respecting the European values. The New Industrial Strategy for
Europe sets out that Europe needs research and technologies and a strong single
market which brings down barriers and cuts red tape. It acknowledges that, stepping
up investment in research, innovation, deployment and up-to-date infrastructure will
help develop new production processes and create jobs in the process. In this regard,
research projects and innovation support services include also the development or
improvement of digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology,
industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries, digital
infrastructures and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies,
block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud
technologies).
(5) Aid for the construction or upgrade of testing and experimentation infrastructures
mainly addresses the market failure stemming from imperfect and asymmetric
information or coordination failures. Contrary to research infrastructures, testing and
experimentation infrastructures are used predominantly for economic activities and,
more specifically, for the provision of services to undertakings. Constructing or
upgrading a state of the art testing and experimentation infrastructure involves high
up-front investment costs, which together with an uncertain client base, can render
access to private financing difficult. Access to publicly funded testing and
experimentation infrastructures must be granted on a transparent and non-
discriminatory basis and on market terms to multiple users. To facilitate users’ access
to testing and experimentation infrastructures, their user fees can be reduced in
compliance with other provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 or Commission
4
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Social and Economic Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘The European
Green Deal’, COM(2019) 640 final.
5
Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing
the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU)
2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1).
6
COM(2020) 103 final.
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Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 (de minimis Regulation) 7. If those conditions are not
respected, the measure may entail State aid to the users of the infrastructure. In such
situations, aid to the users or for the construction or upgrade is only exempted from the
notification requirement if the aid to the users is granted in compliance with the
applicable State aid rules. Multiple parties may also own and operate a given testing
and experimentation infrastructure, and public entities and undertakings may also use
the infrastructure collaboratively. Testing and experimentation infrastructures are also
known as technology infrastructures.
(6) Aid for innovation clusters aims at tackling market failures linked with coordination
problems hampering the development of clusters, or limiting the interactions and
knowledge flows within clusters. State aid can either support investment in open and
shared infrastructures for innovation clusters, or support the operation of clusters, with
a view to enhancing collaboration, networking and learning. Operating aid for
innovation clusters should, however, only be allowed on a temporary basis and for a
limited period. To facilitate access to the innovation cluster facilities or participation in
the innovation cluster’s activities access can be offered at reduced prices in
compliance with other provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 or the de minimis
Regulation. Depending on the specific objectives pursued or the activities and
functionalities offered, Digital Innovation Hubs (including European Digital
Innovation Hubs funded under the centrally managed Digital Europe Programme
established by Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the
Council 8) whose aim is to stimulate the broad uptake of digital technologies such as
artificial intelligence, cloud, edge and high-performance computing and cybersecurity
by industry (in particular by SMEs) and public sector organisations may qualify as an
innovation cluster by themselves in the meaning of this Regulation.
(7) Aid for innovation activities is mainly targeted at market failures related to positive
externalities (knowledge spill-overs), coordination difficulties and, to a lesser extent,
asymmetric information. With respect to SMEs such innovation aid may be awarded
for obtaining, validating and defending patents and other intangible assets, for the
secondment of highly qualified personnel, and for acquiring innovation advisory and
support services, for example those provided by research and knowledge
dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation
infrastructures or innovation clusters.
(8) Further to the adoption of the revised Guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance
investments for the period as from 2022, 9 definitions and Articles related to access to
finance for SMEs in Regulation (EU) No 651/2014/EU should be aligned with the
revised Guidelines to ensure consistency. SMEs are the backbone of Member States’
economies, both in terms of employment and of economic dynamism and growth, and
are therefore also central to the Union’s economic development and resilience as a
whole. They bring innovative solutions to address challenges like climate change,
inefficient use of resources and loss of social cohesion, and they help spread this
7
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107
and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid (OJ L 352,
24.12.2013, p. 1).
8
Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing
the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (OJ L 166, 11.5.2021, p. 1).
9
Communication from the Commission - Guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments
(OJ C508, 16.12.2021, p. 1).
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innovation supporting the green and digital transition and strengthening the Union’s
resilience or technological sovereignty. However, to be able to grow and unleash their
full potential, SMEs need access to finance. Therefore, the Commission considers it
appropriate to stimulate the creation of an efficient risk finance market, so that SMEs
are able to access the necessary funding at each stage of their development. As long as
such market is not yet fully established, aid for the access to finance for SMEs and
start-ups addresses market failures or other relevant obstacles that prevent them from
attracting the financing they require to develop to their full potential. SMEs, especially
when they are young, or in new or high-tech sectors, are often unable to demonstrate
their credit-worthiness to investors. The evaluation 10 of the relevant rules carried out
in 2019 and 2020, has confirmed that those market failures or other relevant obstacles
persist, a situation that is likely to be worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the
consequences of the current political and economic situation in Europe due to the
Russian military aggression against Ukraine. To further facilitate the deployment of
such aid to ensure SMEs’ growth prospects, the overall resilience of the Union’s
economy and to provide more clarity, the structure of the provisions on risk finance
has been revised.
(9) Further to the adoption of the Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental
protection and energy applicable as from 27 January 2022, 11 definitions and Articles in
Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 related to aid in the fields of environmental protection,
including climate protection, and energy should be aligned to ensure consistency
between the different sets of rules targeting the same objectives. The scope of Section
7 of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should be adjusted to take into account changes in
the market and the Green Deal and the European Climate Law objectives, including
the provisions introduced to amend Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 in 2021 12. When
designing their State aid measures, Member States can combine aid under under
different provisions of the GBER, provided that all the relevant conditions, including
those on cumulation, are complied with.
(10) Investment aid aimed at supporting the acquisition or the leasing of zero-emission
vehicles or clean vehicles or the retrofitting of vehicles, allowing them to qualify as
zero-emission vehicles or clean vehicles, contributes to the shift towards zero-
emission mobility and to achieving the ambitious targets of the Green Deal, mainly the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. In light of the
experience gained by the Commission regarding State aid measures supporting clean
mobility, it is appropriate to introduce specific compatibility conditions to ensure that
the aid is proportionate and does not unduly distort competition by shifting demand
away from cleaner alternatives. The scope of the provisions concerning investment aid
for electric recharging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure should be enlarged to
also cover refuelling infrastructure supplying hydrogen that is not renewable, provided
that a clear pathway towards decarbonisation of the hydrogen supplied exists.
Moreover, aid for recharging and refuelling infrastructure should also be available for
infrastructure that is not publicly accessible.
10
Commission Staff Working Document on the Fitness Check of the 2012 State aid modernisation
package, railways guidelines and short-term export credit insurance (SWD/2020/0257 final).
11
Communication from the Commission – Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection
and energy 2022 (OJ C 80, 18.2.2022, p. 1).
12
Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1237 of 23 July 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014
declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and
108 of the Treaty (OJ L 270, 29.7.2021, p. 39).
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(11) It is appropriate to include in the scope of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 specific
compatibility conditions for aid for hydrogen across sectors in line with the objectives
of the Hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe 13 and for storage. Those
conditions should be added to the existing provisions concerning aid for the promotion
of energy from renewable sources. Aid for the promotion of hydrogen should be
considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, only insofar as exclusively renewable
hydrogen is produced. Aid for storage projects should be exempted from the
notification requirement only to the extent that storage and renewable energy
generation facilities are connected.
(12) The provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 concerning operating aid for the
promotion of energy from renewable sources should be expanded for renewable
energy communities, in accordance with Directive (EU) No 2018/2001 of the
European Parliament and of the Council 14. With respect to investment aid, renewable
energy communities, along different types of undertakings, can take advantage of the
relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. In this context, renewable and
citizen energy communities as defined in Directive (EU) 944/2019 of the European
Parliament and of the Council 15 may qualify as SMEs to the extent they comply with
the requirements laid down in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.
(13) It is appropriate to include in the scope of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 compatibility
conditions for investment aid for the rehabilitation of natural habitats and ecosystems,
the protection and restoration of biodiversity and nature-based solutions for climate
change adaptation and mitigation in line with the objectives of the Biodiversity
Strategy for 2030 16, the European Climate Law objectives set out in Regulation (EU)
2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the EU strategy for
adaptation to climate change 17 and the Communication on Sustainable Carbon
Cycles 18. Those conditions should be added to the existing provisions concerning aid
for the remediation of contaminated sites. Investment aid in those areas should
therefore be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, under certain conditions. In
particular, it is necessary to ensure compliance with the ‘polluter pays principle’,
according to which the costs of measures to deal with pollution should be borne by the
polluter who causes the pollution.
13
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Social and Economic Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘A hydrogen strategy
for a climate-neutral Europe’, COM(2020) 301 final.
14
Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).
15
Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common
rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (OJ L 158, 14.06.2019,
p. 125).
16
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘EU biodiversity Strategy for 2030
bringing nature back into our lives’, COM/2020/380 final.
17
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Forging a climate-resilient Europe
– the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, COM/2021/82 final.
18
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Sustainable Carbon
Cycles, COM(2021) 800 final.
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(14) The provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 concerning investment aid for waste
recycling and re-utilisation should be adapted and expanded to address developments
in the market and, in accordance with the Circular Economy Action Plan 19, to reflect
the shift towards measures aimed at promoting resource efficiency and supporting the
transition towards a circular economy. The replacement of primary raw materials or
feedstock with secondary (re-used or recycled) or recovered raw materials or feedstock
will reduce pressure on natural resources, create sustainable growth and jobs and will
strengthen resilience.
(15) It is necessary to include in the scope of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 compatibility
conditions for aid in the form of environmental tax or levy reductions. Environmental
taxes or parafiscal levies are imposed in order to increase the costs of environmentally
harmful behaviour, thereby discouraging such behaviour and increasing the level of
environmental protection. Where environmental taxes or parafiscal levies could not be
enforced without putting the economic activities of certain undertakings at risk,
granting a more favourable treatment to some undertakings may allow to achieve a
higher general level of contribution to the environmental taxes or parafiscal levies.
Accordingly, in some circumstances, reductions in environmental taxes or levies can
indirectly contribute to a higher level of environmental protection.
(16) With regard to investment aid for district heating systems, the compatibility conditions
laid down in Article 46 of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 on support for investments in
district heating systems that are based on fossil fuels, notably on natural gas, as well as
investments in or upgrades to distribution networks, should be adjusted to take into
account the Green Deal and the European Climate Law objectives, and in particular
the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan 20.
(17) With regard to investments in energy infrastructure, the scope of Regulation (EU) No
651/2014 should include block exemptions for supporting investments not located in
“assisted areas”. Furthermore, the compatibility conditions of Regulation (EU) No
651/2014 on the support to energy infrastructure investments, for natural gas, need to
be adjusted to take into account the Green Deal objectives and to ensure necessary
compliance with the 2030 and 2050 climate targets.
(18) Given the specificities for funding of projects in the defence industry, where demand
comes almost exclusively from Member States, which also control all acquisition of
defence-related products and technologies, including exports, the functioning of the
defence sector is unique and does not follow the conventional rules and business
models that govern more traditional markets. In view of the sector specificities and of
the rules under the European Defence Fund and the European Defence Industrial
Development Programme, where maximum funding rates are set not to limit the
overall public funding but to attract co-funding from Member States, the financial
contributions made by Member States to those co-funded projects should be
considered, under certain conditions, compatible with the internal market and
exempted from the notification requirement. In particular, such co-funding can be
declared compatible beyond the possibilities of the general provisions on aid for
research and development projects, provided that beneficiaries pay a market price for
19
Commission Communication – A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more
competitive Europe, COM/2020/98 final.
20
Commission Communication - Sustainable Europe Investment Plan European Green Deal Investment
Plan, COM/2020/21 final.
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any use for non-defence applications of the intellectual property rights or prototypes
resulting from the project. In such situations it should, in addition, not be necessary to
reassess eligibility conditions already assessed at trans-national level in accordance
with European Defence Fund or the European Defence Industrial Development
Programme rules by the Commission assisted by independent experts prior to a
research and development project's selection. Finally, Article 8 should be amended to
allow for combinations of Union centrally managed funding and State aid of up to the
total project costs.
(19) Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 is amended as follows:
(1) Article 1 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 2, point (a) is replaced by the following:
“(a) schemes under Sections 1 (with the exception of Article 15), 2, 3, 4, 7 (with the
exception of Article 44) and 10 of Chapter III of this Regulation and aid
implemented in the form of financial products under Section 16 of that Chapter, if
the average annual State aid budget per Member State exceeds EUR 150 million,
from six months after their entry into force. For aid under Section 16 of Chapter III
of this Regulation, only contributions by a Member State to the Member State
compartment of the EU guarantee, referred to in Article 9(1), point (b), of Regulation
(EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and the Council*, which are earmarked
for a specific financial product shall be taken into account for assessing whether the
average annual State aid budget of that Member State related to the financial product
exceeds EUR 150 million. The Commission may decide that this Regulation shall
continue to apply for a longer period to any of these aid schemes after having
assessed the relevant evaluation plan notified by the Member State to the
Commission, within 20 working days from the scheme’s entry into force. Where the
Commission has already extended the application of this Regulation beyond the
initial six months as regards such schemes, Member States may decide to extend
those schemes until the end of the period of application of this Regulation, provided
that the Member State concerned has submitted an evaluation report in line with the
evaluation plan approved by the Commission;
______________
* Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the
InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 30).”;
(b) in paragraph 3, point (a) is replaced by the following:
“(a) aid granted in the fishery and aquaculture sector, within the scope of Regulation
(EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council* with the
exception of:
– training aid;
– aid for SMEs’ access to finance;
– aid in the field of research and development;
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– innovation aid for SMEs;
– aid for disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities;
– regional investment aid in outermost regions;
– regional operating aid schemes;
– aid for European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and
sustainability (‘EIP’) Operational Group projects;
– aid for community-led local development (‘CLLD’) projects;
– aid to European Territorial Cooperation projects;
– aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes under Article 15(1)(f) and
15(3) of Council Directive 2003/96/EC**;
– aid involved in financial products supported by the InvestEU Fund, except for
operations listed in Article 1(1) of Commission Regulation (EU) No
717/2014***;
______________
* Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common organisation of
the markets in fishery and aquaculture products, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1184/2006 and (EC) No
1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 1);
** Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation
of energy products and electricity (OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51).”;
*** Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ
L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45).”;
(2) Article 2 is amended as follows:
(a) in point (18), points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:
“(a) In the case of a limited liability company (other than an SME that has been in
existence for less than three years or, for the purposes of eligibility for risk finance
aid, an SME that fulfils the condition in Article 21(3), point (b), and qualifies for risk
finance investments following due diligence by the selected financial intermediary),
where more than half of its subscribed share capital has disappeared as a result of
accumulated losses. This is the case when deduction of accumulated losses from
reserves (and all other elements generally considered as part of the own funds of the
company) leads to a negative cumulative amount that exceeds half of the subscribed
share capital. For the purposes of this provision, ‘limited liability company’ refers in
particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex I to Directive 2013/34/EU of
the European Parliament and of the Council* and ‘share capital’ includes, where
relevant, any share premium.
(b) In the case of a company where at least some of its members have unlimited liability
for the debt of the company (other than an SME that has been in existence for less
than three years or, for the purposes of eligibility for risk finance aid, an SME that
fulfils the condition in Article 21(3), point (b), and qualifies for risk finance
investments following due diligence by the selected financial intermediary), where
more than half of its capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared as a
result of accumulated losses. For the purposes of this provision, ‘a company where at
least some of its members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company’ refers
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in particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex II of Directive
2013/34/EU.
______________
* Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial
statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending
Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives
78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).”;
(b) point (20) is replaced by the following:
“(20) ‘adjusted aid amount’ means the maximum permissible aid amount for a large
investment project, calculated in accordance with the following formula:
adjusted aid amount = R × (A + 0.50 × B + 0 × C)
where: R is the maximum aid intensity applicable in the area concerned, excluding the
increased aid intensity for SMEs; A is the part of eligible costs equal to EUR 50 million; B is
the part of eligible costs between EUR 50 million and EUR 100 million, and C is the part of
eligible costs above EUR 100 million;”;
(c) point (27) is replaced by the following:
“(27) ‘assisted areas’ means areas designated in a regional aid map that has been approved in
application of Article 107(3), points (a) and (c) of the Treaty and is in force at the time of the
award of the aid;”;
(d) point (32) is replaced by the following:
“(32) ‘net increase in the number of employees’ means a net increase in the number of
employees in the establishment concerned compared to the average over a given period in
time, after deducting from the number of jobs created any job losses during that period. The
number of persons employed full-time, part-time and seasonal has to be considered with their
annual labour unit fractions;”;
(e) point (34) is replaced by the following:
“(34) ‘financial intermediary’ means any financial institution regardless of its form and
ownership, including funds of funds, private investment funds, public investment funds,
banks, micro-finance institutions and guarantee societies;”;
(f) the following point (39a) is inserted:
“(39a) ‘arm's length’ means that the conditions of the transaction between the contracting
parties do not differ from those which would be stipulated between independent undertakings
and contain no element of collusion. Any transaction that results from an open, transparent
and non-discriminatory procedure is considered as meeting the arm's length principle;”;
(g) point (40) is deleted;
(h) points (42) and (43) are replaced by the following:
“(42) ‘regional operating aid’ means aid to reduce an undertaking's current expenditure,
including categories such as personnel costs, materials, contracted services, communications,
energy, maintenance, rent, administration, but excluding depreciation charges and the costs of
financing related to an investment that benefited from investment aid;
(43) ‘steel sector’ means the production of one or more of the following:
(a) pig iron and ferro-alloys:
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pig iron for steelmaking, foundry and other pig iron, spiegeleisen and high-carbon
ferro-manganese, not including other ferro-alloys;
(b) crude and semi-finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel:
liquid steel cast or not cast into ingots, including ingots for forging semi- finished
products: blooms, billets and slabs; sheet bars and tinplate bars; hot-rolled wide coils,
with the exception of production of liquid steel for castings from small and medium-
sized foundries;
(c) hot finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel:
rails, sleepers, fishplates, soleplates, joists, heavy sections of 80 mm and over, sheet
piling, bars and sections of less than 80 mm and flats of less than 150 mm, wire rod,
tube rounds and squares, hot-rolled hoop and strip (including tube strip), hot-rolled
sheet (coated or uncoated), plates and sheets of 3 mm thickness and over, universal
plates of 150 mm and over, with the exception of wire and wire products, bright bars
and iron castings;
(d) cold finished products:
tinplate, terneplate, blackplate, galvanised sheets, other coated sheets, cold-rolled
sheets, electrical sheets and strip for tinplate, cold-rolled plate, in coil and in strip;
(e) tubes:
all seamless steel tubes, welded steel tubes with a diameter of over 406.4 mm;”;
(i) the following point (43a) is inserted:
“(43a) ‘lignite’ means low-rank C or ortho-lignite and low-rank B or meta-lignite as defined
by the international codification system for coal established by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe;”;
(j) point (44) is deleted;
(k) point (45) is replaced by the following:
“(45) ‘transport sector’ means the transport of passengers by aircraft, maritime transport, road
or rail and by inland waterway or freight transport services for hire or reward; more
specifically, the ‘transport sector’ means the following activities in terms of the statistical
classification of economic activities (NACE Rev. 2), established by Regulation (EC) No
1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council*:
(a) NACE 49: Land transport and transport via pipelines, excluding NACE 49.32 Taxi
operation, 49.39 Operation of teleferics, funiculars, ski and cable lifts if not part of
urban or suburban transit systems, 49.42 Removal services, 49.5 Transport via
pipeline;
(b) NACE 50: Water transport;
(c) NACE 51: Air transport, excluding NACE 51.22 Space transport;
______________
* Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006
establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393,
30.12.2006, p. 1).”;
(l) the following point (47a) is inserted:
EN EN
“(47a) ‘completion of the investment’ means the moment when the investment is considered
by the national authorities as completed or, in the absence thereof, three years after the start of
works;”;
(m) points (49), (50) and (51) are replaced by the following:
“(49) ‘initial investment’ means one of the following:
(a) an investment in tangible and intangible assets related to one or more of the
following:
– the setting-up of a new establishment;
– the extension of the capacity of an existing establishment;
– the diversification of the output of an establishment into products or services
not previously produced in the establishment; or
– a fundamental change in the overall production process of the product(s) or the
overall provision of the service(s) concerned by the investment in the
establishment;
(b) an acquisition of assets belonging to an establishment that has closed or would have
closed had it not been purchased. The sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking
does not qualify as initial investment.
A replacement investment thus does not constitute an initial investment.
(50) ‘same or a similar activity’ means an activity in the same class (four-digit numerical
code) of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification of economic activities (NACE Rev. 2);
(51) ‘initial investment that creates a new economic activity’ means:
(a) an investment in tangible and intangible assets related to one or both of the
following:
– the setting up of a new establishment;
– the diversification of the activity of an establishment, provided that the new
activity is not the same or a similar activity to the activity previously
performed in the establishment; or
(b) an acquisition of assets belonging to an establishment that has closed or would have
closed had it not been purchased, provided that the new activity to be carried out
using the acquired assets is not the same or a similar activity than the one carried out
in the establishment before the acquisition.
Sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking does not qualify as initial investment that
creates a new economic activity;”;
(n) points (72) and (73) are replaced by the following:
“(72) ‘independent private investor’ means an investor who is private and independent, as
defined in this point. “Private” investors mean investors who, irrespective of their ownership
structure, pursue a purely commercial interest, use their own resources and bear the full risk in
respect of their investment, and will include, in particular: credit institutions investing at own
risk and from own resources, private endowments and foundations, family offices and
business angels, corporate investors, insurance undertakings, pension funds, academic
institutions, as well as private individuals or natural persons. The European Investment Bank,
the European Investment Fund, an international financial institution in which a Member State
is a shareholder, or a legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis
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which has been given a mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central,
regional or local level to carry out development or promotional activities (national
promotional bank or another promotional institution), will not be considered private investors
for the purposes of this definition. “Independent” investor means an investor that is not a
shareholder of the eligible undertaking in which it invests. Upon the creation of a new
company, any private investors, including the founders, of such new company, are considered
to be independent from that company;
(73) ‘natural person’ for the purpose of Articles 21a and 23 means a person other than a legal
entity and who is not an undertaking for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty;”;
(o) point (79) is replaced by the following:
“(79) ‘entrusted entity’ means the European Investment Bank and the European Investment
Fund, an international financial institution in which a Member State is a shareholder, or a
legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis which has been given
mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central, regional or local level to
carry out development or promotional activities (a promotional bank or another promotional
institution). The entrusted entity can be selected or directly appointed in accordance with the
provisions of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council* or in
accordance with Article 38(4), point (b)(iii), of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the
European Parliament and of the Council** or Article 59(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of
the European Parliament and of the Council***, whichever is applicable;
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* Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public
procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
** Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common
provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying
down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion
Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ
L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320).
*** Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down
common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion
Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules
for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for
Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159).”;
(p) point 80 is replaced by the following:
“(80) ‘innovative enterprise’ means an enterprise that meets one of the following conditions:
(a) it can demonstrate, by means of an evaluation carried out by an external expert, that
it will in the foreseeable future develop products, services or processes which are
new or substantially improved compared to the state of the art in its industry, and
which carry a risk of technological or industrial failure;
(b) its research and development costs represent at least 10 % of its total operating costs
in at least one of the three years preceding the granting of the aid or, in the case of a
start-up enterprise without any financial history, in the audit of its current fiscal
period, as certified by an external auditor;
(c) in the three years preceding the granting of the aid: it has been awarded a Seal of
Excellence quality label by the European Innovation Council in accordance with the
Horizon 2020 work programme 2018-2020 adopted by Commission Implementing
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Decision C(2017)7124* or with Articles 2(23) and 15(2) of Regulation (EU)
2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council**; or it has received an
investment by the European Innovation Council Fund, such as an investment in the
context of the Accelerator Programme as referred to in Article 48(7) of Regulation
(EU) 2021/695;
(d) in the three years preceding the granting of the aid: it has participated in any action
of the Commission’s space initiative “CASSINI” (such as the Business Accelerator
or the Matchmaking)***; or it has received investment from the CASSINI Seed and
Growth Funding Facility, as well as the ISEP (InnovFin Space Equity Pilot); or it has
been awarded a CASSINI Prize, meeting the evaluation thresholds set out therein; or
it has been funded in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/695 in the space
research area resulting in the creation of a start-up, or has been funded as a
beneficiary of a research and development action under the European Defence Fund
(Regulation (EU) 2021/697)**** or has been funded under the European Defence
Industrial Development Programme (Regulation (EU) 2018/1092)*****;
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* Commission Implementing Decision C(2017)7124 of 27.10.2017 on the adoption of the work programme for
2018-2020 within the framework of the Specific Programme Implementing Horizon 2020 – the Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) and on the financing of the work programme for 2018.
** Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing
Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for
participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1290/2013 and (EU) No 1291/2013 (OJ L
170, 12.5.2021, p. 1).”
*** The CASSINI initiative, first announced in the ‘SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe’
(COM(2020) 103 final of 10.3.2020), is a collection of concrete actions whose aims include easing access to risk
capital for space-based SMEs to fund their expansion.
**** Regulation (EU) 2021/697 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the
European Defence Fund and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 149);
***** Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 establishing
the European Defence Industrial Development Programme aiming at supporting the competitiveness and
innovation capacity of the Union's defence industry (OJ L 200, 7.8.2018, p. 30).”;
(q) point (81) is replaced by the following:
“(81) ‘alternative trading platform’ means a multilateral trading facility as defined in Article
4(1), point (22) of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council*
where at least 50 % of the financial instruments admitted to trading are issued by SMEs;
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* Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial
instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (recast) (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p.
349).”;
(r) points (85) and (86) are replaced by the following:
“(85) ’industrial research’ means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the
acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or
aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services,
including digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector
(including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing,
quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big
data and cloud technologies).
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Industrial research comprises the creation of components parts of complex systems, and may
include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with
simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, when necessary for the
industrial research and notably for generic technology validation;
(86) ‘experimental development’ means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing
scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of
developing new or improved products, processes or services, including digital products,
processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to,
digital industries and technologies, such as for example super-computing, quantum
technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and
cloud or edge technologies). This may also encompass, for example, activities aiming at the
conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.
Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and
validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative
of real life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical
improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. This may
include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessarily the
final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for
demonstration and validation purposes.
Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing
products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in
progress, even if those changes may represent improvements;”;
(s) point (89) is deleted;
(t) the following point (90a) is inserted:
“(90a) ‘Non-defence applications’ in the meaning of Article 25e refers to application in
products other than defence-related products listed in the Annex of Directive 2009/43/EC of
the European Parliament and the Council*.
______________
* Directive 2009/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 simplifying terms and
conditions of transfers of defence-related products within the Community (OJ L 146, 10.6.2009, p. 1).”;
(u) point (92) is replaced by the following:
“(92) ‘innovation clusters’ means structures or organised groups of independent parties (such
as innovative start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises, as well as research and
knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation
infrastructures, Digital Innovation Hubs, non-for-profit organisations and other related
economic actors) designed to stimulate innovative activity and new ways of collaboration,
such as by digital means, by sharing and/or promoting the sharing of facilities and exchange
of knowledge and expertise and by contributing effectively to knowledge transfer,
networking, information dissemination and collaboration among the undertakings and other
organisations in the cluster;”;
(v) points (94) to (97) are replaced by the following:
“(94) ‘innovation advisory services’ means consultancy, assistance or training in the fields of
knowledge transfer, acquisition, protection or exploitation of intangible assets or the use of
standards and regulations embedding them, as well as consultancy, assistance or training on
the introduction or use of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital
technologies and solutions);
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(95) ‘innovation support services’ means the provision of office space, data banks, cloud and
data storage services, libraries, market research, laboratories, quality labelling, testing,
experimentation and certification or other related services, including those services provided
by research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and
experimentation infrastructures or innovation clusters, for the purpose of developing more
effective or technologically advanced products, processes or services, including the
implementation of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital technologies and
solutions);
(96) ‘organisational innovation’ means the implementation of a new organisational method at
the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the EEA),
workplace organisation or external relations, including for instance by making use of novel or
innovative digital technologies or solutions. Excluded from this definition are changes that are
based on organisational methods already in use in the undertaking, changes in management
strategy, mergers and acquisitions, ceasing to use a process, simple capital replacement or
extension, changes resulting purely from changes in factor prices, customisation, localisation,
regular, seasonal and other cyclical changes and trading of new or significantly improved
products;
(97) ‘process innovation’ means the implementation of a new or significantly improved
production or delivery method, including significant changes in techniques, equipment or
software, at the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the
EEA), including for instance by making use of novel or innovative digital technologies or
solutions. Excluded from this definition are minor changes or improvements, increases in
production or service capabilities through the addition of manufacturing or logistical systems
which are very similar to those already in use, ceasing to use a process, simple capital
replacement or extension, changes resulting purely from changes in factor prices,
customisation, localisation, regular, seasonal and other cyclical changes and trading of new or
significantly improved products;”;
(w) the following point (98a) is inserted:
“(98a) ‘testing and experimentation infrastructure’ means facilities, equipment, capabilities
and resources, such as test beds, pilot lines, demonstrators, testing facilities or living labs, and
related support services that are used predominantly by undertakings, especially SMEs, which
seek support for testing and experimentation, in order to develop new or improved products,
processes and services, and to test and upscale technologies, to advance through industrial
research and experimental development. Access to publicly funded testing and
experimentation infrastructures is open to several users and must be granted on a transparent
and non-discriminatory basis and on market terms.* Testing and experimentation
infrastructures are sometimes also known as technology infrastructures;
______________
* See Commission Staff Working Document, ‘Technology Infrastructures’, SWD(2019) 158 final, 8.4.2019.”;
(x) points (101) and (102) are replaced by the following:
“(101) ‘environmental protection’ means any action or activity designed to reduce or prevent
pollution, negative environmental impacts or other damage to physical surroundings
(including to air, water and soil), ecosystems or natural resources by human activities,
including to mitigate climate change, to reduce the risk of such damage, to protect and restore
biodiversity or to lead to more efficient use of natural resources, including energy-saving
measures and the use of renewable sources of energy and other techniques to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, as well as to shift to circular economy models
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to reduce the use of primary materials and increase efficiencies. It also covers actions that
reinforce adaptive capacity and minimise vulnerability to climate impacts;
(102) ‘Union standard’ means:
(a) a mandatory Union standard setting the levels to be attained in environmental terms
by individual undertakings, excluding standards or targets set at Union level which
are binding for Member States but not for individual undertakings; or
(b) the obligation to use the best available techniques (BAT), as defined in Directive
2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council*, and to ensure that
emission levels do not exceed those that would be achieved when applying BAT;
where emission levels associated with the BAT have been defined in implementing
acts adopted under Directive 2010/75/EU or under other applicable directives, those
levels will be applicable for the purpose of these guidelines; where those levels are
expressed as a range, the limit for which the BAT is first achieved for the
undertaking concerned will be applicable;
______________
* Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2008, p. 8).”;
(y) points (102a), (102b) and (102c) are replaced by the following:
“(102a) ‘recharging infrastructure’ means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles
or mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity;
(102b) ‘refuelling infrastructure’ means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles or
mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with hydrogen;
(102c) ‘renewable hydrogen’ means hydrogen produced from renewable energy in accordance
with the methodologies set out for renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-
biological origin in Directive (EU) 2018/2001*;
______________
* Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).”;
(z) the following points 102(d) to 102(k) are inserted:
“(102d) ‘renewable electricity’ means electricity generated from renewable sources, as
defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2018/2001/EU;
(102e) ‘smart recharging’ means a recharging operation in which the intensity of electricity
delivered to the battery is adjusted in real-time, based on information received through
electronic communication;
(102f) ‘clean vehicle’ means:
(a) concerning light-duty road vehicles: a clean vehicle as defined in Article 4, point
(4)(a) of Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council*;
(b) concerning heavy-duty road vehicles:
– until 31 December 2025, a low-emission heavy-duty vehicle as defined in
Article 3, point (12) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 of the European Parliament
and of the Council**;
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– until 31 December 2025, a clean vehicle as defined in Article 4, point (4)(b) of
Directive 2009/33/EC and not falling within the scope of Regulation (EU)
2019/1242;
(d) concerning inland waterway vessels:
– an inland vessel for passenger transport that has a hybrid or dual fuel engine
deriving at least 50 % of its energy from zero direct (tailpipe) CO2 emission
fuels or plug-in power for its normal operation;
– an inland vessel for freight transport with direct (tailpipe) emissions of CO2 per
tonne kilometre (g CO2/tkm), calculated (or estimated in case of new vessels)
using the International Maritime Organization Energy Efficiency Operational
Indicator (EEOI), 50 % lower than the average reference value for emissions of
CO2 determined for heavy duty vehicles (vehicle subgroup 5- LH) in
accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242;
(e) concerning maritime vessels:
– a sea and coastal vessel for passenger, freight transport, for port operations or
for auxiliary activities that (i) has a hybrid or dual fuel engine deriving at least
25 % of its energy from zero direct (tailpipe) CO2 emission fuels or plug-in
power for its normal operation at sea and in ports, or (ii) has an attained EEOI
value 10 % below the EEOI requirements applicable on 1 April 2022 and is
able to run on zero direct (tailpipe) CO2 emission fuels or on fuels from
renewable sources;
– a sea and coastal vessel for freight transport that is used exclusively for
operating coastal and short sea services designed to enable modal shift of
freight currently transported by land to sea and that has direct (tailpipe) CO2
emissions, calculated using the EEOI, 50 % lower than the average reference
CO2 emissions value determined for heavy duty vehicles (vehicle sub group 5-
LH) in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242;
(f) concerning rail rolling stock: rolling stock that has zero direct tailpipe CO2 emissions
when operated on a track with necessary infrastructure and that uses a conventional
engine where such infrastructure is not available (bimode);
(102g) ‘zero-emission vehicle’ means:
(a) concerning two- and three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles: a vehicle falling within
the scope of Regulation (EU) 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the
Council*** with tailpipe emissions of CO2 equal to 0g CO2e/km, calculated in
accordance with the requirements laid down in Article 24 and Annex V of that
Regulation;
(b) concerning light-duty road vehicles: a vehicle of category M1, M2 or N1 with zero
tailpipe CO2 emissions, as determined in accordance with the requirements laid down
in Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151****;
(c) concerning heavy-duty road vehicles: a zero-emission heavy duty vehicle as defined
in Article 4, point (5) of Directive 2009/33/EC;
(d) concerning inland waterway vessels: an inland vessel for passenger or freight
transport with zero direct (tailpipe/exhaust) CO2 emissions;
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(e) concerning maritime vessels: a sea and coastal vessel for passenger or freight
transport, for port operations or for auxiliary activities that has zero direct (tailpipe)
CO2 emissions;
(f) concerning rail rolling stock: rolling stock that has zero direct (tailpipe) CO2
emissions;
(102h) ‘vehicle’ means any of the following:
(a) a road vehicle of category M1, M2, N1, M3, N2, N3 or L;
(b) an inland or a sea and coastal vessel for passenger or freight transport;
(c) rolling stock;
(d) aircraft;
(102j) ‘mobile groundhandling equipment’ means mobile equipment used in service activities
incidental to air or maritime transport;
(102k) ‘mobile terminal equipment’ means mobile equipment used for the loading, unloading
and transhipment of goods and intermodal loading units, and for moving cargo within a
terminal area;
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* Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of
clean road transport vehicles in support of low-emission mobility (OJ L 120, 15.5.2009, p. 5).
** Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 setting CO2
emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and amending Regulations (EC) No 595/2009 and
(EU) 2018/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/53/EC (OJ L 198,
25.7.2019, p. 202).
*** Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the
approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 52).
**** Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 of 1 June 2017 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of
the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from
light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance
information (OJ L 175, 7.7.2017, p. 1).”;
(aa) point (103) is replaced by the following:
“(103) ‘energy efficiency’ means energy efficiency as defined in Article 2, point (4) of
Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council*;
______________
* Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency,
amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (OJ L
315, 14.11.2012, p. 1).”;
(bb) point (103d) is replaced by the following:
“(103d) ‘smart readiness’ means the capability of buildings or building units to adapt their
operation to the needs of the occupant, including optimising energy efficiency and overall
performance, and to adapt their operation in response to signals from the grid”;
(cc) the following point (103f) is inserted:
“(103f) ‘energy savings’ means energy savings as defined in Article 2, point (5) of Directive
2012/27/EU”;
(dd) point (105) is replaced by the following:
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“(105) ‘energy efficiency fund’ or ‘EEF’ means a special investment vehicle set up for the
purpose of investing in energy efficiency projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of
buildings. EEFs are managed by an energy efficiency fund manager;”;
(ee) point (108) is replaced by the following:
“(108) ‘cogeneration’ or ‘combined heat and power’ or ‘CHP’ means cogeneration as defined
in Article 2, point (30), of Directive 2012/27/EU;”;
(ff) the following points (108a) and (108b) are inserted:
“(108a) ‘renewable cogeneration’ means cogeneration using 100 % energy from renewable
sources as an input for the production of heat and power;
(108b) ‘heat pump’ means heat pump as defined in Article 2, point (18), of Directive
2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council*;
______________
* Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy
performance of buildings (OJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p. 13).”;
(gg) point (109) is replaced by the following:
“(109) ‘energy from renewable sources’ or ‘renewable energy’ means energy produced by
plants using only renewable energy sources as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive
2018/2001/EU, as well as the share in terms of calorific value of energy produced from
renewable energy sources in hybrid plants which also use conventional energy sources and
includes renewable electricity used for filling storage systems connected behind-the-meter
(jointly installed or as an add-on to the renewable installation), but excludes electricity
produced as a result of storage systems;”;
(hh) the following point (109a) is inserted:
“(109a) ‘renewable energy community’ means renewable energy community as defined in
Article 2, point (16) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
(ii) point (110) is replaced by the following:
“(110) ‘renewable energy sources’ means the sources of renewable energy as defined in
Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
(jj) points (111), (112) and (113) are deleted;
(kk) points (114), (115) and (116) are replaced by the following:
“(114) ‘new and innovative technology’ means a new and recently qualified technology
compared to the state of the art in the industry, which carries a risk of technological or
industrial failure and is not an optimisation or scaling up of an existing technology;
(115) ‘balancing’ for electricity means balancing as defined in Article 2, point (10) of
Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council*;
(116) ‘standard balancing responsibilities’ means non-discriminatory balancing
responsibilities across technologies which do not exempt from balance responsibility any
generator as set out in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
______________
* Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal
market for electricity (OJ L 158, 14.6.2019, p. 54).”;
(ll) the following point (116a) is inserted:
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“(116a) ‘balance responsible party (BRP)’ means balance responsible party as defined in
Article 2, point (14) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;”;
(mm) point (117) is replaced by the following:
“(117) ‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from
biological origin, as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
(nn) the following points (117a) to (117d) are inserted:
“(117a) ‘biofuels’ means biofuels as defined in Article 2, point (33), of Directive (EU)
2018/2001;
(117b) ‘biogas’ means biogas as defined in Article 2, point (28), of Directive (EU)
2018/2001;
(117c) ‘bioliquids’ means bioliquids as defined in Article 2, point (32), of Directive (EU)
2018/2001;
(117d) ‘biomass fuels’ means biomass fuels as defined in Article 2, point (27), of Directive
(EU) 2018/2001;”;
(oo) points (118) and (119) are replaced by the following:
“(118) ‘funding gap’ means the net extra cost determined by the difference between the
economic revenues and costs (including the investment and operation) of the aided project
and those of the alternative project which the aid beneficiary would credibly carry out in the
absence of aid. To determine the funding gap, the Member State must quantify, for the factual
scenario and a credible counterfactual scenario, of all main costs and revenues, the estimated
weighted average cost of capital (‘WACC’) of the beneficiaries to discount future cash flows,
as well as the net present value (‘NPV’) for the factual and counterfactual scenarios, over the
lifetime of the project. The typical net extra cost can be estimated as the difference between
the NPV for the factual scenario and for the counterfactual scenario over the lifetime of the
reference project.
(119) ‘environmental tax or parafiscal levy’ means a tax or a levy applied on a specific base
that have a clear negative effect on the environment or which seeks to charge certain
activities, goods or services so that the environmental costs may be included in their price or
so that producers and consumers are oriented towards activities which better respect the
environment;”;
(pp) point (121) is deleted:
(qq) the following points (121a) to (121d) are inserted:
“(121a) ‘remediation’ means environmental management actions, such as the removal or
detoxification of contaminates or excess nutrients from soil and water, that aim to remove
sources of degradation;
(121b) ‘rehabilitation’ means environmental management actions that aim to reinstate a level
of ecosystem functioning on degraded sites, where the goal is renewed and ongoing provision
of ecosystem services rather than the biodiversity and integrity of a designated natural or
semi-natural reference ecosystem;
(121c) ‘ecosystem’ means ecosystem as defined in Article 2, point (13) of Regulation (EU)
No 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council*;
(121d) ‘biodiversity’ means biodiversity as defined in Article 2, point (15) of Regulation (EU)
No 2020/852;
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* Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the
establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ
L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13).”;
(rr) the following points (123a), (123b), (123c) and (123d) are inserted:
“(123a) ‘pollutant’ means a pollutant as defined in Article 2, point (10) of Regulation (EU)
2020/852;
(123b) ‘pollution’ means pollution as defined in Article 3, point 2 of Directive 2010/75/EU;
(123c) ‘nature-based solution’ means a solution that is inspired and supported by nature,
which is cost-effective, simultaneously provides environmental, social and economic benefits
and helps build resilience, and that brings more, and more diverse, nature and natural features
and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-
efficient and systemic interventions;
(123d) ‘restoration’ means the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem as a means of
conserving biodiversity and increasing ecosystem resilience, notably to climate change. The
resotation of ecosystems includes measures taken for the improvement of the condition of an
ecosystem and the recreation or re-establishment of an ecosystem where that condition was
lost and the improvement of ecosystem resilience and adaptation to climate change;”;
(ss) point 124 is replaced by the following:
“(124) ‘energy efficient district heating and cooling’ means efficient district heating and
cooling as defined in Article 2, point (41) of Directive 2012/27/EU;”;
(tt) points (124a) and (124b) are inserted:
“(124a) ‘district heating’ and ‘district cooling’ means district heating or district cooling as
defined in Article 2, point (19), of Directive 2010/31/EU;
(124b) ‘district heating and cooling systems’, means heating and or cooling generation
facilities, thermal storage and distribution network, comprising both primary – transmission –
and secondary network of pipelines, to supply heating or cooling to consumers. Reference to
district heating is to be interpreted as district heating and/or cooling systems, depending on
whether the networks supply heat or cooling jointly or separately;”;
(uu) points (126), (127) and (128) are replaced by the following:
“(126) ‘re-use’ means re-use as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
(127) ‘preparing for re-use’ means preparing for re-use as defined in Article 3, point 16, of
Directive 2008/98/EC;
(128) ‘recycling’ means recycling as defined in Article 3, point 17, of Directive
2008/98/EC;”;
(vv) the following points (128a) to (128h) are inserted:
“(128a) ‘resource efficiency’ means reducing the quantity of inputs needed to produce a unit
of output or substituting primary inputs with secondary inputs;
(128b) ‘waste’ means waste as defined in Article 3, point (1) of Directive 2008/98/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council*;
(128c) ‘treatment’ means treatment as defined in Article 3, point (14) of Directive
2008/98/EC as well as treatment of materials, products and substances other than waste;
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(128d) ‘recovery’ means recovery as defined in Article 3, point (15) of Directive 2008/98/EC
as well as recovery of materials, products and substances other than waste;
(128e) ‘disposal’ means disposal as defined in Article 3, point (19) of Directive 2008/98/EC;
(128f) ‘other products, materials or substances’ means materials, products and substances
other than waste, including by-products referred to in Article 5 of Directive 2008/98/EC,
agricultural and forestry residues, waste water, rain water and runoff water, minerals,
nutrients, residual gases from production processes, and redundant products, parts and
materials;
(128g) ‘redundant products, parts and materials’ means products, parts or materials that are no
longer needed by or useful for its holder but are suitable for re-use;
(128h) ‘separate collection’ means separate collection as defined in Article 3, point (11) of
Directive 2008/98/EC;
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*Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and
repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).”;
(ww) point (129) is deleted;
(xx) point (130) is replaced by the following:
“(130) ‘energy infrastructure’ means any physical equipment or facility which is located
within the Union or linking the Union to one or more third countries and falling under the
following categories:
(a) electricity:
(i) transmission and distribution systems, where ‘transmission’ means the
transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on the extra high-voltage
and high-voltage interconnected system with a view to its delivery to final
customers or to distributors, but does not include supply and ‘distribution’
means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on high-voltage,
medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its
delivery to customers, but does not include supply;
(ii) any equipment or installation essential for the systems referred to in point (i) to
operate safely, securely and efficiently, including protection, monitoring and
control systems at all voltage levels and substations;
(iii) fully integrated network components , as defined in Article 2, point (51) of the
Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council *;
(iv) smart electricity grids, which means systems and components integrating
information and communications technology, through operational digital
platforms, control systems and sensor technologies both at transmission and
distribution level, aiming at a more secure, efficient and intelligent electricity
transmission and distribution network, increased capacity to integrate new
forms of generation, storage and consumption and facilitating new business
models and market structures;
(v) off-shore electricity grids, which means any equipment or installation of
electricity transmission or distribution infrastructure as defined in point (i),
which has dual functionality: interconnection and transmission or distribution
of offshore renewable electricity from the offshore generation sites to two or
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more countries. This also includes smart grids as well as any offshore adjacent
equipment or installation essential to operate safely, securely and efficiently,
including protection, monitoring and control systems, and necessary
substations if they also ensure technology interoperability and among others
interface compatibility between different technologies;
(b) gas (natural gas, biogas- including biomethane – and/or renewable gas of non-
biological origin):
(i) transmission and distribution pipelines for the transport of gas that form part of
a network, excluding high-pressure pipelines used for upstream distribution of
natural gas;
(ii) underground storage facilities connected to the high-pressure gas pipelines
referred to in point (i);
(iii) reception, storage and regasification or decompression facilities for liquefied or
compressed gas;
(iv) any equipment or installation essential for the system to operate safely,
securely and efficiently or to enable bi-directional capacity, including
compressor stations;
(v) smart gas grids, which means any of the following equipment or installation
aiming at enabling and facilitating the integration of renewable and low-carbon
gases (including hydrogen or gases of non-biological origin) into the network:
digital systems and components integrating information and communication
technologies, control systems and sensor technologies to enable the interactive
and intelligent monitoring, metering, quality control and management of gas
production, transmission, distribution and consumption within a gas network.
Furthermore, smart grids may also include equipment to enable reverse flows
from the distribution to the transmission level and related necessary upgrades
to the existing network;
(c) hydrogen:
(i) transmission pipelines, for the high-pressure transport of hydrogen, as well as
distribution pipelines for the local distribution of hydrogen, giving access to
multiple network users on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis;
(ii) storage facilities, which means facilities used for the stocking of hydrogen of a
high grade of purity, including the part of a hydrogen terminal used for storage
but excluding the portion used for production operations, and including
facilities reserved exclusively for hydrogen network operators in carrying out
their functions. Hydrogen storage facilities include underground storage
facilities connected to the high-pressure hydrogen pipelines referred to in point
(i);
(iii) dispatch, reception, storage and regasification or decompression facilities for
hydrogen or hydrogen embedded in other chemical substances with the
objective of injecting the hydrogen into the grid either for gas or dedicated to
hydrogen;
(iv) terminals, which means installations used for the transmission of liquid
hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for injection into the hydrogen network.
terminals include ancillary equipment and temporary storage necessary for the
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transmission process and subsequent injection into the hydrogen newtork, but
does not include any part of the hydrogen terminal used for storage;
(v) interconnectors, which means a hydrogen network (or part thereof) which
crosses or spans a border between Member States, or between a Member State
and a third country up to the territory of the Member States or the territorial sea
of that Member State;
(vi) any equipment or installation essential for the hydrogen system to operate
safely, securely and efficiently or to enable bi-directional capacity, including
compressor stations;
Any of the assets listed under points (i) to (vi) may be newly constructed assets or
assets converted from natural gas to hydrogen, or a combination of the two. Assets
listed under points (i) to (vi), which are subject to third party access shall qualify as
energy infrastructure;
(d) carbon dioxide:
(i) pipelines, other than upstream pipeline network, used to transport carbon
dioxide from more than one source, this is to say, industrial installations
(including power plants) that produce carbon dioxide gas from combustion or
other chemical reactions involving fossil or non-fossil carbon-containing
compounds, for the purpose of permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide
pursuant to Article 3 of Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council** or for the purpose of use of carbon dioxide as feedstock or to
enhance the yields of biological processes;
(ii) facilities for liquefaction and buffer storage of carbon dioxide in view of its
transport or storage. This does not include infrastructure within a geological
formation used for the permanent geological storage of carbon dioxide
pursuant to Article 3 of Directive 2009/31/EC and associated surface and
injection facilities;
(iii) any equipment or installation essential for the system in question to operate
properly, securely and efficiently, including protection, monitoring and control
systems. This may include dedicated mobile assets for the transport and storage
of carbon dioxide, provided that such mobile assets fulfil the definition of a
clean vehicle;
Assets listed under points (i), (ii) and (iii), which are subject to third party access
shall qualify as energy infrastructure;
(e) infrastructure used for transmission or distribution of thermal energy in the form of
steam, hot water or chilled liquids from multiple producers or users, based on use of
renewable energy or waste heat from industrial applications;
(f) Projects of Common Interest, as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Regulation (EU)
347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council*** and project of mutual
interest referred to in Article 171 of the Treaty;
(g) other infrastructure categories, concerning infrastructure that enables physical or
wireless connection of renewable or carbon-free energy between producers and users
from multiple access and exit points and which are open to access by third parties not
belonging to the infrastructure owner or manager undertakings;
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Assets listed under points (a) to (g) which are built for one or a small group of ex ante
identified users and tailored to their needs (‘dedicated infrastructure’) shall not qualify as
energy infrastructure.
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* Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for
the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (OJ L 158, 14.6.2019, p. 125).
** Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological
storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council
Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006
(OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114).
*** Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines
for trans-European energy infrastructure (OJ L 115, 25.4.2013, p. 39).”;
(yy) the following points (130a), (130b), (130c) and (130d) are inserted:
“(130a) ‘distribution system operator’ (DSO) means a distribution system operator as defined
in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
(130b) ‘transmission system operator’ (TSO) means a transmission system operator as defined
in Article 2, point (35), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
(130c) ‘electricity storage’ means deferring the final use of electricity to a moment later than
when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical energy into a form of energy which can
be stored, the storing of such energy, and the subsequent reconversion of such energy into
electrical energy;
(130d) ‘thermal storage’ means deferring the final use of thermal energy to a moment later
than when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical or thermal energy into a form of
energy which can be stored, the storing of such energy, and, where appropriate, the
subsequent conversion or reconversion of such energy into thermal energy for final use (i.e.,
heating or cooling);”;
(zz) point (131) is replaced by the following:
“(131) ‘internal energy market legislation’ consists of Directive (EU) 2019/944, Directive
2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council*, Regulation (EU) 2019/943 and
Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council**;
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* Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common
rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC (OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 94).
** Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions
for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 (OJ L 211,
14.8.2009, p. 36).;”;
(aaa) the following points (131a) and (131b) are inserted:
“(131a) ‘carbon capture and storage’ or ‘CCS’ means a set of technologies that make it
possible to capture the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from industrial plants, including process-
inherent emissions, or to capture it directly from ambient air, to transport it to a storage site
and inject it in suitable underground geological formations for the purpose of permanent
storage;
(131b) ‘carbon capture and use’ or ‘CCU’ means a set of technologies that make it possible to
capture the CO2 emitted from industrial plants, including process-inherent emissions, or to
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capture it directly from ambient air and to transport it to a CO2-consumption utilisation site
for full usage of that CO2;”;
(bbb) point (137) is replaced by the following:
“(137) ‘passive network’ means a broadband network without any active component and
typically comprises the physical infrastructure of the network (such as pipes, ducts, inspection
chambers, manholes, cabinets, masts, towers, poles and passive antennas) and broadband
cables (including dark fibre and copper cables);”
(ccc) the following points (137a) and (137b) are inserted:
“(137a) ‘backhaul network’ means the part of a broadband electronic communications
network that connects the backbone network to the access network and which does not
provide direct access to end-users;
(137b) ‘backbone network’ means the core network that interconnects backhaul networks. It
consists in the portion of the network where the traffic of all end-users is aggregated. It
connects different areas or regions;”;
(ddd) point (139) is replaced by the following:
“(139) ‘wholesale access’ means access which enables an operator to utilise the facilities of
another operator. The wholesale access shall include, on the basis of the current technological
developments, at least the following access products:
– for FTTH/FTTB networks: access to the passive network (including ducts, poles,
masts, and dark fibre), unbundled access to the local loop and bitstream access;
– for cable networks: access to the passive network (including ducts, poles, and masts)
and, bitstream access;
– for FTTC networks: access to the passive network (including ducts and cabinets),
sub-loop unbundling and bitstream access;
– for ADSL-based broadband networks: access to the passive network, unbundled
access to the local loop and bitstream access;
– for mobile or wireless networks: access to the passive network (including ducts,
poles, masts, and towers), bit-stream access and localised roaming;
– for satellite platforms: bitstream access;
– for backhaul networks: access to the passive network (including ducts, poles, masts,
towers, dark fibre) and active services;
– for other passive-only network infrastructure: access to ducts, poles, masts, towers,
and access to dark fibre.”;
(eee) point (139a) is replaced by the following:
“(139a) ‘premises passed’ means end-user premises to which, upon request from end-users,
an operator can provide broadband internet access services (regardless of whether these
premises are already connected or not connected to the network). The price charged by the
operator for the provision of broadband services at the end users premises in this case must
not exceed normal connection fees, meaning it must not include any additional or exceptional
cost as compared to the standard commercial practice and, in any case, must not exceed the
usual price in the Member State concerned. These normal connection fees must be determined
by the competent public authority or the national regulatory authority. Furthermore, the
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operator must be able to technically connect the end user within 4 weeks from the date of the
request;”;
(fff) the following points (139d), (139e), and (139f) are inserted:
“(139d) ‘peak-time’ means the time of the day with a typical duration of one hour where the
network load usually has its maximum;
(139e) ‘peak-time conditions’ are the conditions expected to be experienced by the network at
‘peak-time’;
(139f) ‘relevant time horizon’ means the time horizon used for verifying planned private
investments and corresponds to the time necessary to deploy the planned State funded
network, starting from the moment of publication of the public consultation on the planned
State intervention until the entry into operation of the network (i.e. start of the provision of
wholesale and/or retail services on the State funded network). The relevant time horizon
cannot be shorter than two years;”;
(ggg) point (157) is replaced by the following:
“(157) ‘port infrastructure’ means infrastructure and facilities for the provision of transport
related port services, for example berths used for the mooring of ships, quay walls, jetties and
floating pontoon ramps in tidal areas, internal basins, backfills and land reclamation,
infrastructure for the collection of ship-generated waste and cargo residues and recharging
and refuelling infrastructure in ports supplying vehicles, mobile terminal equipment and
mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity, hydrogen, ammonia and methanol;”;
(hhh) point (161) is deleted;
(3) in Article 4, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:
(a) point (a) is replaced by the following:
“(a) for regional investment aid: for an investment with eligible costs of EUR 100 million or
more, the aid amounts per undertaking per investment projects as set out below:
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 10 %: EUR 7.5 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 15 %: EUR 11.25 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 20 %: EUR 15 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 25 %: EUR 18.75 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 30 %: EUR 22.5 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 35 %: EUR 26.25 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 40 %: EUR 30 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 50 %: EUR 37.5 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 60 %: EUR 45 million;
– in cases of maximum regional aid intensity of 70 %: EUR 52.5 million;”;
(b) point (h) is replaced by the following:
“(h) for aid for start-ups: the amounts laid down per undertaking in Article 22(3), (4), (5) and
(7);”;
(c) the following point (i)(xi) is inserted:
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“(xi) for aid involved in the co-funding of projects supported by the European
Defence Fund or the European Defence Industrial Development Programme
under Article 25e: [EUR 80 million] per undertaking, per project;”;
(d) the following point (ja) is inserted:
“(ja) for investment aid for testing and experimentation infrastructures: EUR 15 million per
infrastructure;”;
(e) point (s) and (sa) are replaced by the following:
“(s) for investment aid for environmental protection, unless otherwise specified: EUR 20
million per undertaking per investment project;
(sa) for aid for dedicated infrastructure and storage referred to in Article 36(5): EUR 20
million per project;”;
(f) points (sb) to (sf) are inserted:
“(sb) for investment aid for recharging or refuelling infrastructure referred to in Article 36a(1)
and (2): EUR 20 million per undertaking per project and, in the case of schemes, an average
annual budget of EUR 150 million;
(sc) for investment aid for the combined improvements of the energy and environmental
performance of buildings referred to in Articles 38(3b) and 39(2a): EUR 30 million per
undertaking per project;
(sd) for investment aid for energy efficiency investments falling within the scope of Article
38(7): EUR 30 million of total nominal outstanding financing per beneficiary;
(se) for investment aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings in the form of financial
instruments: the amounts set out in Article 39(5);
(sf) for aid in form of reduction of environmental taxes or levies referred to in Article 44a:
EUR 50 million per scheme per year;”;
(g) points (v) (w) and (x) are replaced by the following:
“(v) for operating aid for the promotion of electricity from renewable sources, as referred to in
Article 42, and operating aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources and
renewable hydrogen in small projects and renewable energy communities, as referred to in
Article 43: EUR 20 million per undertaking per project; the sum of the budgets of all the
schemes falling under Article 42 and the sum of the budgets of all the schemes falling under
Article 43 should not exceed EUR 250 million per year;
(w) for aid for district heating or cooling systems, as referred to in Article 46: EUR 50 million
per undertaking per project;
(x) for aid for energy infrastructure, as referred to in Article 48: EUR 70 million per
undertaking per project;”;
(h) point (yd) is inserted:
“(yd) for aid for the deployment of backhaul networks awarded in the form of a grant: EUR
100 million total costs per project; for aid for the deployment of backhaul networks awarded
in the form of a financial instrument the nominal amount of total financing provided to any
final beneficiary per project must not exceed EUR 150 million;”;
(4) in Article 5, paragraph 2, the following point (ga) is inserted:
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“(ga) aid for SMEs in the form of reduced access fees or free access to innovation advisory
services and innovation support services, as defined in Article 2, points (94) and (95)
respectively, offered for example by research and knowledge dissemination organisations,
research infrastructures, testing and experimentation infrastructures or innovation clusters
based on an aid scheme provided that the following conditions are met:
(i) the advantage consisting in reduced fees or free access acquired is quantifiable and
demonstrable;
(ii) the full or partial price discounts for services and the rules in accordance with which
SMEs may apply for and be selected and granted discounts are made publicly
available (through web sites or other suitable means) before the service provider
starts offering the discounts;
(iii) the service provider shall keep records of the amounts of aid granted to each SME in
the form of price discounts to make sure that the ceilings set out in Article 28 (3) and
(4) are complied with. Such records shall be kept for 10 years from the date on which
the last aid was granted by the service provider;”;
(5) in Article 6, paragraph 5, the following points (m), (n) and (o) are added:
“(m) aid for the remediation of environmental damage and the rehabilitation of natural
habitats and ecosystems where the remediation or rehabilitation costs exceed the increase in
value of the land or property and the conditions laid down in Article 45 are fulfilled;
(n) aid for the protection of biodiversity and the implementation of nature-based solutions for
climate change adaptation and mitigation where the conditions laid down in Article 45 are
fulfilled.
(o) aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy sources under Article 41, 42 and
43 when the aid is granted automatically in accordance with objective and non-discriminatory
criteria and without further exercise of discretion by the Member State and the measure has
been adopted and is in force before work on the aided project or activity has started;”;
(6) in Article 7, paragraph 1, is replaced by the following:
“1. For the purposes of calculating aid intensity and eligible costs, all figures used shall be
taken before any deduction of tax or other charge. The eligible costs shall be supported by
documentary evidence which shall be clear, specific and contemporary. The amounts of
eligible costs may be calculated in accordance with simplified cost options, provided that an
operation is at least partly financed through a Union fund that allows the use of simplified
cost options and that the category of costs is eligible according to the relevant exemption
provision. In such case, the simplified cost options provided in the relevant rules governing
the Union fund are applicable. In addition, for projects implemented in line with Recovery
and Resilience Plans as approved by the Council under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the
European Parliament and of the Council,* the amounts of eligible costs may also be
calculated in accordance with simplified cost options, provided that the simplified cost
options set out in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 or Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 are used. In
addition, for aid under Articles 25a and 25b, indirect costs can be calculated in line with the
rules laid down in the respective paragraph 3 of Articles 25a and 25b.
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* Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the
Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).”;
(7) Article 8 is amended as follows:
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(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. Where Union funding centrally managed by the institutions, agencies, joint undertakings
or other bodies of the Union that is not directly or indirectly under the control of the Member
State is combined with State aid, only the latter shall be considered for determining whether
notification thresholds and maximum aid intensities or maximum aid amounts are respected,
provided that the total amount of public funding granted in relation to the same eligible costs
does not exceed the most favourable funding rate laid down in the applicable rules of Union
law. By way of derogation, the total public funding for projects supported by the European
Defence Fund may reach up to the total eligible costs of the project, provided that the
notification thresholds and maximum aid intensities or maximum aid amounts under this
Regulation are respected.”;
(b) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4. Aid without identifiable eligible costs exempted under Article 19b, 20a, 21, 21a, 22 or 23,
Article 56e(5), point (a)(ii), (iii) or (iv), Article 56e(10) and Article 56f may be cumulated
with any other State aid with identifiable eligible costs. Aid without identifiable eligible costs
may be cumulated with any other State aid without identifiable eligible costs, up to the
highest relevant total financing threshold fixed in the specific circumstances of each case by
this or another block exemption regulation or decision adopted by the Commission. Aid
without identifiable eligible costs exempted under Article 56e(5), point (a)(ii), (iii) or (iv),
Article 56e(10) and Article 56f may be cumulated with other aid without identifiable eligible
costs exempted under those Articles.”;
(8) Article 9 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:
“1. The Member State concerned shall ensure the publication on a comprehensive State aid
website, at national or regional level of:
(a) the summary information referred to in Article 11 in the standardised format laid
down in Annex II or a link providing access to it;
(b) the full text of each aid measure, as referred to in Article 11 or a link providing
access to the full text;
(c) the information referred to in Annex III on each individual aid award exceeding
EUR 100 000, or for aid involved in financial products supported by the InvestEU
fund under Section 16 on each individual aid award exceeding EUR 500 000, or for
beneficiaries active in primary agricultural production or in the fishery and
aquaculture sector, other than those to which Section 2a applies, on each individual
aid award exceeding EUR 10 000.
As regards aid granted to European Territorial Cooperation projects as referred to in Article
20, the information referred to in this paragraph shall be placed on the website of the Member
State in which the managing authority concerned, as defined in Article 21 of Regulation (EU)
No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council*, or Article 45 of Regulation
(EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council**, whichever is applicable, is
located. Alternatively, the participating Member States may decide that each of them shall
provide the information relating to the aid measures within their territory on the respective
websites.
The publication obligations laid down in the first subparagraph shall not apply to aid granted
to European Territorial Cooperation projects referred to in Article 20a, as well as European
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Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability (‘EIP’) Operational
Group projects and community-led local development (‘CLLD’) projects under Article 19b.
2. For schemes in the form of tax advantages, and for schemes covered by Article 16 and
21*** the conditions set out in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (c), of this Article shall
be considered fulfilled if Member States publish the required information on individual aid
amounts in the following ranges (in EUR million):
0.01-0.1 (only for fishery and aquaculture as well as primary agricultural production);
0.1-0.5;
0.5-1;
1-2;
2-5;
5-10;
10-30; and
30 and more.
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* Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on
specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial
cooperation goal (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 259).
** Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific
provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional
Development Fund and external financing instruments (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 94).
*** For schemes under Article 16 and 21 of the present Regulation, the requirement to publish information on
each individual award exceeding EUR 100 000 can be waived with respect to SMEs which have not carried out
any commercial sale in any market.”;
(b) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following
“4. The information referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), of this Article shall be organised and
accessible in a standardised manner, as described in Annex III, and shall allow for effective
search and download functions. It shall be published within 6 months from the date the aid
was granted, or for aid in the form of tax advantage, within 1 year from the date the tax
declaration is due, and shall be available for at least 10 years from the date on which the aid
was granted.”;
(9) Article 13 is replaced by the following:
“Article 13
Scope of regional aid
This Section shall not apply to:
(a) aid in the steel sector, the lignite sector and the coal sector;
(b) aid to the transport sector as well as the related infrastructure; aid for energy
generation, storage, transmission, distribution and infrastructure, except for regional
investment aid in outermost regions and regional operating aid schemes; and aid in
the broadband sector except for regional operating aid schemes;
(c) regional aid in the form of schemes which are targeted at a limited number of
specific sectors of economic activity; schemes aimed at tourism activities or
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processing and marketing of agricultural products are not considered to be targeted at
specific sectors of economic activity;
(d) regional operating aid granted to undertakings whose principal activities fall under
Section K ‘Financial and insurance activities’ of the NACE Rev. 2 or to undertakings
that perform intra-group activities whose principal activities fall under classes 70.10
‘Activities of head offices’ or 70.22 ‘Business and other management consultancy
activities’ of NACE Rev. 2.;
(e) aid covering investment costs for buildings, land, and equipment to the extent and as
long as they are part of a project supported under Article 25.”;
(10) Article 14 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. In assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty, the aid
may be granted for any form of initial investment regardless of the size of the beneficiary. In
assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty, the aid may
be granted to SMEs for any form of initial investment and to large enterprises only for an
initial investment that creates a new economic activity in the area concerned.”;
(b) paragraphs (4) to (7) are replaced by the following:
“4. The eligible costs shall be one or several of the following:
(a) investment costs in tangible and intangible assets; or
(b) the estimated wage costs of employment created as a result of an initial investment,
calculated over two years; or
(c) a combination of part of the costs referred to in points (a) and (b) but not exceeding
the amount of point (a) or (b), whichever is higher.
5. The investment shall be maintained in the area concerned for at least five years, or three
years for SMEs, after the completion of the investment. This shall not prevent the replacement
of a plant or equipment that has become outdated or broken within this period, provided that
the economic activity is retained in the area concerned for the minimum period.
6. The assets acquired shall be new except for SMEs and for the acquisition of an
establishment.
Costs related to the lease of tangible assets may be taken into account under the following
conditions:
(a) for land and buildings, the lease must continue for at least five years after the
expected date of completion of the investment for large enterprises, and three years
for SMEs;
(a) for plant or machinery, the lease must take the form of financial leasing and must
contain an obligation for the aid beneficiary to purchase the asset at the expiry of the
term of the lease.
In the case of an initial investment as referred to in Article 2, point 49(b) or point 51(b), in
principle only the costs of buying the assets from third parties unrelated to the buyer shall be
taken into consideration. However, if a member of the family of the original owner, or one or
more employees, takes over a small enterprise, the condition that the assets shall be bought
from third parties unrelated to the buyer does not apply. The transaction shall take place under
market conditions. If the acquisition of the assets of an establishment is accompanied by an
additional investment eligible for regional aid, the eligible costs of that additional investment
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should be added to the cost of acquisition of the assets of the establishment. If aid has already
been granted for the acquisition of assets prior to their purchase, the costs of those assets shall
be deducted from the eligible costs related to the acquisition of an establishment.
7. For aid awarded to large enterprises for a fundamental change in the production process,
the eligible costs shall exceed the depreciation of the assets linked to the activity to be
modernised over the preceding three fiscal years. For aid awarded to large enterprises or
SMEs for a diversification of an existing establishment, the eligible costs shall exceed by at
least 200 % the book value of the reused assets, as registered in the fiscal year preceding the
start of works.”;
(c) paragraph 8 is amended as follows:
(i) in the first subparagraph, point (d) is replaced by the following:
“(d) they must be included in the assets of the undertaking that receives the aid and must
remain associated with the project for which the aid is awarded for at least five years
(three years for SMEs).”;
(ii) the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:
“For large enterprises, costs of intangible assets shall be eligible only up to 50 % of the total
eligible investment costs for the initial investment. For SMEs, 100 % of the costs of intangible
assets shall be eligible.”;
(d) in paragraph 9, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:
“(a) the investment project shall lead to a net increase in the number of employees in the
establishment concerned compared to the average over the previous 12 months, after
deducting from the number of jobs created any job losses that occurred during that
period, expressed in annual labour units;
(b) each post shall be filled within three years of completion of the investment;”;
(e) paragraphs 10 and 11 are deleted;
(f) in paragraph 12, the first sentence is replaced by the following:
“12. The aid intensity shall not exceed the maximum aid intensity established in the regional
aid map which is in force at the time the aid is awarded in the area concerned.”;
(g) in paragraph 13, the first sentence is replaced by the following:
“13. Any initial investment related to the same or a similar activity started by the same
beneficiary (at group level) within a period of three years from the date of start of works on
another aided investment in the same level 3 region of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units
for Statistics shall be considered to be part of a single investment project”;
(h) paragraphs 14 and 15 are replaced by the following:
“14. The aid beneficiary shall provide a financial contribution of at least 25 % of the eligible
costs through its own resources or by external financing, in a form that is free of any public
support. The 25 % own contribution requirement shall not apply to investment aid granted for
investment in the outermost regions insofar as a lower contribution is necessary to fully
accommodate the maximum aid intensity.
15. For an initial investment linked to European territorial cooperation projects covered by
Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 or Regulation (EU) 2021/1059, the aid intensity of the area in
which the initial investment is located shall apply to all beneficiaries participating in the
project. If the initial investment is located in two or more assisted areas, the maximum aid
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intensity shall be the one applicable in the assisted area where the highest amount of eligible
costs are incurred. In assisted areas eligible for aid under Article 107(3), point (c) of the
Treaty, this provision shall apply to large enterprises only if the initial investment creates a
new economic activity.”;
(11) in Article 15(3), the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:
“3. In sparsely and very sparsely populated areas, the regional operating aid schemes shall
prevent or reduce depopulation under the following conditions:”;
(12) Article 16 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
“6. The urban development aid shall leverage additional investment from independent private
investors as defined in Article 2 point (72) at the level of the urban development funds or the
urban development projects, so as to achieve an aggregate amount reaching a minimum of
20% of the total financing provided to an urban development project.”;
(13) Article 17 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:
“2. The eligible costs shall be one or several of the following:
(a) the costs of investment in tangible and intangible assets, provided they do not fall
under the scope of Article 25, including one-off non-amortizable costs linked directly
to the investment and its initial installation;
(b) the estimated wage costs of employment directly created by the investment project,
calculated over two years;
(c) a combination of part of the costs referred to in points (a) and (b) but not exceeding
the amount of point (a) or (b), whichever is higher.
3. In order to be considered an eligible cost for the purposes of this Article, an investment
shall consist of the following:
(a) an investment in tangible and intangible assets related to the setting-up of a new
establishment; the extension of an existing establishment; the diversification of the
output of an establishment into products not previously produced in the
establishment; or a fundamental change in the overall production process of the
product(s) concerned by the investment in the establishment; or
(b) an acquisition of assets belonging to an establishment that has closed or would have
closed had it not been purchased. Sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking
does not qualify as investment. The transaction shall take place under market
conditions. In principle, only the costs of buying the assets from third parties
unrelated to the buyer shall be taken into consideration. However, if a member of the
family of the original owner, or one or more employees, takes over a small
enterprise, the condition that the assets shall be bought from third parties unrelated to
the buyer does not apply.
A replacement investment thus does not constitute an investment in the meaning of this
paragraph.”;
(b) the following paragraph 3a is inserted:
“3a. Costs related to the lease of tangible assets may be taken into account under the
following conditions:
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(a) for land and buildings, the lease must continue for at least three years after the
expected date of completion of the investment;
(b) for plant or machinery, the lease must take the form of financial leasing and must
contain an obligation for the aid beneficiary to purchase the asset at the expiry of the
term of the lease.”;
(c) paragraph 4 is amended as follows:
(i) point (b) is replaced by the following:
“(b) they shall be amortisable;”;
(ii) point (d) is replaced by the following:
“(d) they shall be included in the assets of the undertaking that receives the aid for at least
three years.”;
(14) Article 21 is replaced by the following:
“Article 21
Risk finance aid
1. Risk finance aid schemes in favour of SMEs shall be compatible with the internal market
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Member States, either directly or through an entrusted entity, shall implement the risk
finance measure via one or more financial intermediaries. Member States or entrusted entities
shall provide a public contribution to financial intermediaries in line with paragraphs 9 to 13;
and financial intermediaries, in line with paragraphs 14 to 17, shall make risk finance
investments in line with paragraphs 4 to 8, into eligible undertakings that comply with
paragraph 3. Neither Member States nor entrusted entities shall invest directly into the eligible
undertakings without the involvement of a financial intermediary.
3. Eligible undertakings shall be undertakings that are unlisted SMEs and fulfil at least one of
the following conditions:
(a) they have not been operating in any market;
(b) they have been operating in any market either for (i) less than 10 years following
their registration or (ii) less than seven years after their first commercial sale; for any
given undertaking only one of those two eligibility periods can be applied when
granting any additional risk finance aid to the same undertaking. For undertakings
that have taken over another undertaking or were formed through a merger, the
eligibility period applied shall also encompass the operations of that undertaking or
the merged undertakings, respectively, unless the turnover of the acquired
undertaking accounts for less than 10 % of the turnover of the eligible undertaking or
the turnover of the merged undertaking is less than 10% higher than the combined
turnover of the two merging undertakings before the merger. Concerning the
eligibility period referred to in point (i), if applied, for undertakings that are not
subject to registration, the eligibility period is considered to start from either the
moment when the undertaking starts its economic activity or the moment when it
becomes liable to tax with regard to its economic activity, whichever is earlier;
(c) they require an initial investment which, based on a business plan prepared in view
of a new economic activity, is higher than 50 % of their average annual turnover in
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the preceding five years. By derogation from the first sentence, the following shall be
considered investments for new economic activities, if the related initial investment,
based on a business plan, is higher than 30 % of the average annual turnover in the
preceding five years: (i) investments significantly improving the environmental
performance of the activity in accordance with Article 36(2) of this Regulation, (ii)
other environmentally sustainable investments as defined in Article 2(1) of
Regulation (EU) 2020/852, and (iii) investments aiming at increasing capacity for the
extraction, separation, refining, processing or recycling of a critical raw material
listed in Annex IV.
4. The risk finance investment may also cover follow-on investments made in eligible
undertakings, including after the eligibility period referred to in paragraph 3, point (b), if the
following cumulative conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the total amount of risk finance referred to in paragraph 8 is not exceeded;
(b) the possibility of follow-on investments was provided for in the original business
plan;
(c) the undertaking receiving the follow-on investments has not become a ‘linked
enterprise’, within the meaning of Article 3(3) of Annex I, with another undertaking
other than the financial intermediary or the independent private investor providing
risk finance under the measure, unless the new entity is an SME.
5. Risk finance investments into eligible undertakings may take the form of equity, quasi-
equity investments, loans, guarantees, or a mix thereof.
6. When guarantees are provided, the guarantee shall not exceed 80 % of the underlying loan
to the eligible undertaking.
7. For risk finance investments in the form of equity and quasi-equity investments in eligible
undertakings, a risk finance measure may cover replacement capital only if the latter is
combined with new capital representing at least 50 % of each investment round into the
eligible undertakings.
8. The total outstanding amount of risk finance investment referred to in paragraph 5 shall not
exceed EUR 15 million per eligible undertaking under any risk finance measure. In order to
calculate this maximum risk finance investment amount, the following shall be taken into
account:
(a) in the case of loans and quasi-equity investments structured as debt, the nominal
outstanding amount of the instrument;
(b) in the case of guarantees, the nominal outstanding amount of the underlying loan.
9. The public contribution provided to financial intermediaries may take one of the following
forms:
(a) equity or quasi-equity, or financial endowment to provide risk finance investment
directly or indirectly to eligible undertakings;
(b) loans to provide risk finance investment directly or indirectly to eligible
undertakings;
(c) guarantees to cover losses from risk finance investment directly or indirectly to
eligible undertakings.
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10. Risk-reward sharing arrangements between, on the one hand, the Member State (or its
entrusted entity) and, on the other hand, private investors, financial intermediaries or fund
managers, shall be adequate and shall comply with the following:
(a) for risk finance aid in forms other than guarantees, prioritised returns from profits
(asymmetric profit sharing or upside incentives) shall be given preference over
protection against potential losses (downside protection);
(b) in the case of asymmetric loss-sharing between public and private investors, the first
loss borne by the public investor shall be capped at 25 % of the risk finance
investment;
(c) for risk finance aid in the form of guarantees, the guarantee rate shall be limited to
80 % of the underlying guaranteed portfolio and total losses assumed by a Member
State shall be capped at a maximum of 25 % of the underlying guaranteed portfolio.
Only guarantees covering expected losses of the underlying guaranteed portfolio may
be provided for free. If a guarantee also comprises coverage of unexpected losses, the
financial intermediary shall pay, for the part of the guarantee covering unexpected
losses, a market-conform guarantee premium.
11. Where the public contribution provided to the financial intermediary takes the form of
equity and quasi-equity as referred to in paragraph 9, point (a), no more than 30 % of the
financial intermediary's aggregate capital contributions and uncalled committed capital may
be used for liquidity management purposes.
12. For risk finance measures aimed at providing risk finance investments in the form of
equity, quasi-equity or loans to eligible undertakings, the public contribution provided to the
financial intermediary shall leverage additional finance from independent private investors at
the level of the financial intermediaries or the eligible undertakings, so as to achieve an
aggregate private participation rate reaching the following minimum thresholds:
(a) 10 % of the risk finance investment provided to the eligible undertakings referred to
in paragraph 3, point (a);
(b) 40 % of the risk finance investment provided to the eligible undertakings referred to
in paragraph 3 point (b);
(c) 60 % of the risk finance investment provided to the eligible undertakings referred to
in paragraph 3, point (c) and for follow-on risk finance investment in eligible
undertakings after the eligibility period referred to in paragraph 3, point (b).
Finance provided by independent private investors benefitting from risk finance aid in the
form of tax incentives under Article 21a shall not be taken into account for the purposes of
reaching the aggregate private participation rates set out in the first subparagraph.
The private participation rates mentioned in the first subparagraph, points (b) and (c), shall be
reduced to 20 % under point (b) and 30 % under point (c) for investments that are either:
made in assisted areas designated in an approved regional aid map in force at the time of
provision of the risk finance investment in application of Article 107(3), point (a), of the
Treaty; or receive support by the European Defence Fund (Regulation (EU) 2021/697) or
under the Union Space Programme (Regulation (EU) 2021/696)* or by EU Funds
implemented under shared management covered by Regulation (EU) 1303/2013 or Regulation
(EU) 2021/1060 or Regulation (EU) 2021/2115**.
13. Where a risk finance measure is implemented through a financial intermediary targeting
eligible undertakings at different development stages as referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, the
financial intermediary shall achieve a private participation rate that represents at least the
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weighted average based on the volume of the individual investments in the underlying
portfolio and resulting from the application of the minimum participation rates to such
investments as referred to in paragraph 12, unless the required participation from independent
private investors is achieved at the level of the eligible undertakings.
14. Financial intermediaries and fund managers shall be selected through an open, transparent
and non-discriminatory procedure in accordance with applicable Union and national laws.
Member States may require that eligible financial intermediaries and fund managers fulfil
predefined criteria objectively justified by the nature of the investments. The procedure shall
be based on objective criteria linked to experience, expertise and operational and financial
capacity, and shall comply with the following cumulative conditions:
(a) it shall ensure that eligible financial intermediaries and fund managers are
established in accordance with the applicable laws;
(b) it shall not discriminate between financial intermediaries and fund managers on the
basis of their place of establishment or incorporation in any Member State;
(c) it shall aim at establishing adequate risk-reward sharing arrangements as referred to
in paragraph 10, and profit-driven decisions as referred to in paragraph 15.
15. Risk finance measures shall ensure that the financial intermediaries receiving the public
contribution take profit-driven decisions when providing eligible undertakings with risk
finance investments. This obligation is met where the following cumulative conditions are
fulfilled:
(a) the Member State, or the entity entrusted with the implementation of the measure,
shall provide for a due diligence process in order to ensure a commercially sound
investment strategy for the purpose of implementing the risk finance measure,
including an appropriate risk diversification policy aimed at achieving economic
viability and efficient scale in terms of size and territorial scope of the relevant
portfolio of investments;
(b) risk finance investments provided to the eligible undertakings shall be based on a
viable business plan, containing details of product, sales and profitability
development, establishing ex ante financial viability;
(c) a clear and realistic exit strategy shall exist for each equity and quasi-equity
investment.
16. Financial intermediaries shall be managed on a commercial basis. This requirement is met
where the financial intermediary and, depending on the type of risk finance measure, the fund
manager, fulfil the following cumulative conditions:
(a) they shall be obliged by law or contract to act in accordance with best practices and
with the diligence of a professional manager acting in good faith and avoiding
conflicts of interest; regulatory supervision shall apply, where relevant;
(b) their remuneration shall conform to market practices. This requirement is presumed
to be met as long as they are selected through an open, transparent and non-
discriminatory selection procedure in accordance with in paragraph 14;
(c) they shall share part of the investment risks by either co-investing their own
resources or receiving a remuneration linked to performance, so as to ensure that
their interests are permanently aligned with the interests of the Member State or its
entrusted entity;
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(d) they shall set out an investment strategy, criteria and the proposed timing of
investments;
(e) investors shall be allowed to be represented in the governance bodies of the
investment fund, such as the supervisory board or the advisory committee, if any.
17. In a risk finance measure where risk finance investment is provided to eligible
undertakings in the form of guarantees, loans or quasi-equity investments structured as debt,
the financial intermediary shall undertake risk finance investments into eligible undertakings
that would not have been carried out or would have been carried out in a restricted or different
manner without the aid. The financial intermediary shall be able to demonstrate that it
operates a mechanism that ensures that all the advantages are passed on to the largest extent to
the eligible undertakings in the form of higher volumes of financing, riskier portfolios, lower
collateral requirements, lower guarantee premiums or lower interest rates.
18. Risk finance measures providing risk finance investments for SMEs that do not fulfil the
conditions laid down in paragraph 3 shall be compatible with the internal market within the
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the following cumulative conditions
are fulfilled:
(a) at the level of the SMEs, the aid fulfils the conditions laid down in Commission
Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013**, Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013***
or Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014****, whichever is applicable;
(b) all the conditions laid down in this Article are fulfilled, with the exception of the
conditions set out in paragraphs 3, 4, 8, 12 and 13, which do not need to be fulfilled;
(c) for risk finance measures providing risk finance investments to eligible undertakings
in the form of equity, quasi-equity or loans, the measure shall leverage additional
financing from independent private investors at the level of the financial
intermediaries or the SMEs, so as to achieve an aggregate private participation rate
reaching at least 60 % of the risk finance provided to the SMEs.
The private participation rate mentioned in the first subparagraph, point (c), shall be reduced
to 30 % for investments that are either: made in assisted areas designated in an approved
regional aid map in force at the time of provision of the risk finance investment in application
of Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty; or receive support by the European Defence Fund
(Regulation (EU) 2021/697) or under the Union Space Programme (Regulation (EU)
2021/696) or by EU Funds implemented under shared management covered by Regulation
(EU) 1303/2013 or Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.
______________
* Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the
Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations
(EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU (OJ L 170,
12.5.2021, p. 69);
** Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing
rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy
(CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No
1307/2013 (OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 1).
** Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid (OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, p.1).
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*** Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and
108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (OJ L
352, 24.12.2013 p. 9).
**** Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ
L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45).”;
(15) the following Article 21a is inserted:
“Article 21a
Risk finance aid in the form of tax incentives for private investors who are natural
persons
1. Risk finance aid schemes in favour of SMEs in the form of tax incentives to independent
private investors who are natural persons providing risk finance directly or indirectly to
eligible undertakings shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in
Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Eligible undertakings are those that fulfill the criteria laid down in Article 21(3). The total
risk finance investment provided under Article 21 and under this Article for each eligible
undertaking shall not exceed the maximum amount laid down in Article 21(8).
3. Where the independent private investor provides risk finance indirectly through a financial
intermediary, the eligible investment shall take the form of the acquisition of shares or
participations in the financial intermediary, which shall in turn provide risk finance
investments to eligible undertakings in accordance with Article 21(5) to (8). Concerning the
possible forms of tax incentives, no tax incentive may be granted in respect of the services
provided by the financial intermediary or its managers.
4. Where the independent private investor provides risk finance directly to the eligible
undertaking, only the acquisition of newly issued full-risk ordinary shares issued by an
eligible undertaking shall constitute an eligible investment. Those shares shall be kept for at
least three years. Replacement capital shall only be covered under the conditions laid down in
Article 21(7). Concerning the possible forms of tax incentives, losses arising upon disposal of
the shares may be set-off against income tax. In the case of tax relief on dividends, any
dividend received in respect of qualifying shares may be (fully or partially) exempt from
income tax. Any profit on the sale of qualifying shares may be either (fully or partially)
exempt from capital gains tax or the tax liability with respect to such profit may be deferred if
reinvested in new qualifying shares within one year.
5. Where the independent private investor provides risk finance directly to the eligible
undertaking, in order to ensure an adequate participation of such independent private investor,
in accordance with Article 21(12), the tax relief, counted as the cumulative maximum tax
relief from all tax incentives combined, shall not surpass the following maximum thresholds:
(a) 50 % of the eligible investment carried out by the independent private investor into
the eligible undertakings referred to in Article 21(3), point (a);
(b) 35 % of the eligible investment carried out by the independent private investor into
the eligible undertakings referred to in Article 21(3), point (b);
(c) 20 % of the eligible investment carried out by the independent private investor into
the eligible undertakings referred to in Article 21(3), point (c) or of a follow-on
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eligible investment into an eligible undertaking after the eligibility period referred to
in Article 21(3), point (b).
The tax relief thresholds for the direct investments mentioned in the first subparagraph, may
be increased up to 65% under point (a), up to 50 % under point (b) and up to 35 % under point
(c) for investments that are either: made in assisted areas designated in an approved regional
aid map in force at the time of provision of the risk finance investment in application of
Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty; or receive support by the European Defence Fund
(Regulation (EU) 2021/697) or under the Union Space Programme (Regulation (EU)
2021/696) or by EU Funds implemented under shared management covered by Regulation
(EU) 1303/2013 or Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 or Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.
6. Where the independent private investor provides risk finance indirectly through a financial
intermediary, and in accordance with Article 21(12), the tax relief, counted as the cumulative
maximum tax relief from all tax incentives combined, shall not surpass 30% of the eligible
investment carried out by the independent private investor into an eligible undertaking
referred to in Article 21(3). This tax relief threshold may be increased up to 50% for
investments that are either: made in assisted areas designated in an approved regional aid map
in force at the time of provision of the risk finance investment in application of Article 107(3),
point (a) of the Treaty; or receive support by the European Defence Fund (Regulation (EU)
2021/697) or under the Union Space Programme (Regulation (EU) 2021/696) or by EU Funds
implemented under shared management covered by Regulation (EU) 1303/2013 or Regulation
(EU) 2021/1060 or Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.”;
(16) Article 22 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. Eligible undertakings shall be any unlisted small enterprise up to five years following its
registration, that fulfils the following cumulative conditions:
(a) it has not taken over the activity of another enterprise, unless the turnover of the
overtaken activity accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible
undertaking before the eligible undertaking took that activity over;
(b) it has not yet distributed profits;
(c) it has not been formed through a merger or acquisition, unless the turnover of the
acquired undertaking accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible
undertaking or the turnover of the merged undertaking is less than 10% higher than
the combined turnover of the two merging undertakings before the merger.
For eligible undertakings that are not subject to registration, the five year eligibility period is
considered to start from either the moment when the undertaking starts its economic activity
or the moment it becomes liable to tax with regard to its economic activity, whichever is
earlier.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, point (c), undertakings formed through a
merger between undertakings eligible for aid under this Article shall also be considered
eligible undertakings up to five years from the date of registration of the oldest undertaking
participating in the merger.”;
(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. Start-up aid shall take the form of:
(a) loans with interest rates which are not conform with market conditions, with a
duration of 10 years and up to a maximum nominal amount of EUR 1 million, or
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EUR 1,5 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the
conditions of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty, or EUR 2 million for
undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3),
point (a), of the Treaty. For loans with a duration comprised between five years and
10 years the maximum amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above
by the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the loan. For loans with a
duration of less than five years, the maximum amount shall be the same as for loans
with a duration of five years;
(b) guarantees with premiums which are not conform with market conditions, with a
duration of 10 years and up to maximum EUR 1,5 million of amount guaranteed, or
EUR 2,25 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the
conditions of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty, or EUR 3 million for
undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3),
point (a), of the Treaty. For guarantees with a duration comprised between five years
and 10 years the maximum amount guaranteed amounts may be adjusted by
multiplying the amounts above by the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration
of the guarantee. For guarantees with a duration of less than five years, the maximum
amount guaranteed shall be the same as for guarantees with a duration of five years.
The guarantee shall not exceed 80 % of the underlying loan;
(c) grants, including equity or quasi equity investment, interests rate and guarantee
premium reductions up to EUR 0,5 million gross grant equivalent or EUR 0,75
million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of
Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty, or EUR 1 million for undertakings
established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3), point (a), of
the Treaty;
(d) tax incentives to eligible start-ups up to EUR 0,5 million gross grant equivalent or
EUR 0,75 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the
conditions of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty, or EUR 1 million for
undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3),
point (a), of the Treaty.”;
(c) the following paragraph 6 is added:
“6. Where a start-up aid scheme is implemented through one or more financial intermediaries,
the conditions applying to financial intermediaries referred to in Article 21(10), (14), (15),
(16) and (17), shall apply.”;
(d) the following paragraph 7 is added:
“7. In addition to the amounts in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, start-up aid can take the form of either
a transfer of intellectual property (IP) or a grant of the related access rights from a research
organisation, where the underlying IP has been developed through its independent own or
collaborative research and development activity, to an eligible undertaking under paragraph 2.
The transfer or the grant has to fulfill the following conditions:
(a) the purpose is to bring a new product or service to the market; and
(b) the value of the IP is set at market price, which is the case if it has been set according
to one of the following methods:
(i) the amount has been established by means of an open, transparent and non-
discriminatory competitive sale procedure;
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(ii) an independent expert valuation confirms that the amount is at least equal to
the market price;
(iii) the amount is the result of arm’s length negotiations between the research
organisation and the start-up;
(iv) in cases where the start-up has a right of first refusal as regards the IP
generated in collaboration with the research organisation, where the research
organisation exercises a reciprocal right to solicit more economically
advantageous offers from third parties so that the collaborating start-up has to
match its offer accordingly.
The value of any contribution, both financial and non-financial, of the eligible undertaking to
the costs of the research organisation’s activities that resulted in the IP concerned may be
deducted from the value of the IP referred to in point (b).
The aid amount of the IP transfer or the grant of the related access rights under this paragraph
shall not exceed EUR 1 million. The aid amount corresponds to the value of the IP referred to
in point (b) above, including the above-mentioned deduction. The value of the IP referred to
in point (b) can exceed EUR 1 million, in which case such additional amount may be covered
by the eligible undertaking with own funds or other means.”;
(17) in Article 23(2), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:
“The aid measure may take the form of tax incentives to independent private investors that are
natural persons in respect of their risk finance investments made through an alternative
trading platform into undertakings eligible under the conditions laid down in Article 21a(2)
and (5).”;
(18) Article 24 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:
“2. The eligible costs shall be:
(a) the costs for initial screening and formal due diligence undertaken by managers of
financial intermediaries or investors to identify eligible undertakings pursuant to
Articles 21, 21a and 22;
(b) the costs for investment research, as defined in Article 36(1) of Commission
Delegated Regulation 2017/565*, in an individual eligible undertaking pursuant to
Articles 21, 21a and 22, provided this research is publicly disseminated, and, if it has
been disseminated to clients of the investment research provider before public
dissemination, is disseminated publicly in the same form and no later than three
months after the first dissemination to clients.
3. Investment research referred to in paragraph 2, point (b), of this Article shall fulfil the
requirements laid down in Articles 36 and 37 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565.
______________
* Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of
the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for
investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (OJ L 87, 31.3.2017, p. 1).”;
(b) the following paragraph 4 is inserted:
“4. The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs.”;
(19) Article 25 is amended as follows:
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(a) in paragraph 3, point (e) is replaced by the following:
“(e) additional overheads and other operating expenses, including costs of materials,
supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result of the project; without
prejudice to Article 7(1), third sentence, such R&D project costs may alternatively be
calculated on the basis of a simplified cost approach in the form of a flat-rate of up to
[20 %], applied to total eligible R&D project costs referred to in point (a) to (d). In
this case, the R&D project costs used for the calculation of the indirect costs shall be
established on the basis of normal accounting practices and shall comprise only
eligible R&D project costs referred to in points (a) to (d).”;
(b) paragraph 6, point (b), is amended as follows:
(i) point (ii) is replaced by the following:
“(ii) the results of the project are widely disseminated through conferences,
publication, open access repositories, or free or open source software;”;
(ii) the following point (iii) is added:
“(iii) the beneficiary commits to, on a timely basis, make available licences for
research results of aided R&D projects, which are protected by intellectual
property rights, at a market price and on non-exclusive and non-discriminatory
basis for use by interested parties in the EEA.”;
(20) the following Article 25e is inserted:
“Article 25e
Aid involved in the co-funding of projects supported by the European Defence Fund or
the European Defence Industrial Development Programme
1. Aid provided to co-fund a research and development project funded by the European
Defence Fund or the European Defence Industrial Development Programme and which is
evaluated, ranked and selected in line with the European Defence Fund or the European
Defence Industrial Development Programme rules, shall be compatible with the internal
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty provided that the conditions laid down
in this Article are fulfilled.
2. The eligible costs of the aided project shall be those defined as eligible under the European
Defence Fund or the European Defence Industrial Development Programme rules.
3. The total public funding provided can reach up to 100% of the eligible costs of the project,
meaning that the costs of the project not covered by Union funding can be covered by State
aid.
4. In case the aid intensity received by the beneficiary exceeds the maximum aid intensity the
beneficiary could have received under Article 25, paragraphs 5 to 7, the beneficiary must pay
a market price to the granting authority to use for non-defence applications the intellectual
property rights or prototypes resulting from the project. In any event, the maximum amount to
be paid to the granting authority for this use shall not exceed the difference between the aid
received by the beneficiary and the maximum amount of aid the beneficiary could have
received applying the maximum aid intensity allowed for that beneficiary under Article 25,
paragraphs 5 to 7.”;
(21) the following Article 26a is inserted:
“Article 26a
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Investment aid for testing and experimentation infrastructures
1. Aid for the construction or upgrade of testing and experimentation infrastructures shall be
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The price charged for the operation or use of the infrastructure shall correspond to a market
price or reflect their costs plus a reasonable margin in the absence of a market price.
3. Access to the infrastructure shall be open to several users and be granted on a transparent
and non-discriminatory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 10 % of the
investment costs of the infrastructure may be granted preferential access under more
favourable conditions. In order to avoid overcompensation, such access shall be proportional
to the undertaking's contribution to the investment costs and these conditions shall be made
publicly available.
4. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in intangible and tangible assets.
5. The aid intensity shall not exceed 25 % of the eligible costs.”;
6. The aid intensity may be increased up to a maximum aid intensity of 40%, 50% and 60% of
the eligible investment costs of large, medium and small sized enterprises respectively as
follows:
a) by 10 percentage points for medium sized enterprises and 20 percentage points for
small enterprises;
b) by additional 10 percentage points for cross-border testing and experimentation
infrastructures which are subject to at least two Member States providing the public
funding or for testing and experimentation infrastructures evaluated and selected at
Union level;
c) by additional 5 percentage points for testing and experimentation infrastructures of
which at least 80% of annual capacity is allocated to SMEs.”;
(22) Article 27 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. Investment aid can be granted to the owner of the innovation cluster. Operating aid can be
granted to the operator of the innovation cluster. The operator, when different from the owner,
can either have a legal personality or be a consortium of undertakings without a separate legal
personality. In all instances separate accounting for the costs and revenues of each activity
(owhership, operation and use of the cluster) has to be kept according to the applicable
accounting standards by each undertaking.”;
(b) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4. The fees charged for using the cluster’s facilities and for participating in the cluster’s
activities shall correspond to the market price or reflect their costs including a reasonable
margin.”;
(23) in Article 28(2), point (c) is replaced by the following:
“(c) costs for innovation advisory and support services, including those services provided
by research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures,
testing and experimentation infrastructures or innovation clusters.”;
(24) Article 36 is amended as follows:
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(a) the heading and paragraph 1 are replaced by the following:
“Article 36
Investment aid for environmental protection, including decarbonisation
1. Investment aid for environmental protection, including aid for the reduction and removal of
greenhouse gas emissions , shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in
Chapter I are fulfilled.”;
(b) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:
“1a. This Article shall not apply to measures for which more specific rules are laid down in
Articles 36a, 36b and 38 to 48. This Article shall also not apply to investments in equipment,
machinery and industrial production facilities using fossil fuels, including those using natural
gas. This is without prejudice to the possibility to grant aid for the installation of add-on
components improving the level of environmental protection of existing equipment,
machinery and industrial production facilities, in which case the investment shall not result in
the expansion of the production capacity and higher consumption of fossil fuels. This Article
shall apply to investments in installations, equipment, machinery and infrastructure
producing, using or transporting hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels to the extent foreseen
in paragraph 1b and 2a.
(c) the following paragraph 1b is inserted:
“1b. This Article shall apply to investments in equipment, machinery and infrastructure using
or transporting hydrogen to the extent that the hydrogen used or transported qualifies as
renewable hydrogen.
This Article shall also apply to aid for investments in installations, equipment, machinery, and
infrastructure producing, using or transporting hydrogen produced from electricity and which
does not qualify as renewable hydrogen, to the extent that it can be demonstrated that the
produced, used or transported electricity-based hydrogen achieves life-cycle greenhouse gas
emissions savings of at least 70 % relative to a fossil fuel comparator of 94g CO2eq/MJ
(2.256 tCO2eq/tH2). To determine the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions savings under this
subparagraph, the carbon content of electricity shall be determined by the marginal generation
unit in the bidding zone where the electrolyser is located in the imbalance settlement periods
when the electrolyser consumes electricity from the grid.
In the cases referred to in the first and second subparagraphs, only hydrogen fulfilling the
conditions set out in those subparagraphs shall be used, transported or – where relevant –
produced throughout the lifetime of the investment. The Member State shall obtain a
commitment to that effect.”;
(d) paragraph 2 is amended as follows:
(i) points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:
“(a) it shall enable the implementation of a project leading to an increase in the
environmental protection of the activities of the beneficiary, beyond Union standards
in force, irrespective of the presence of mandatory national standards that are more
stringent than the Union standards; for projects linked to or involving dedicated
infrastructure referred to in Article 2, point (130) last paragraph for hydrogen within
the meaning of paragraph 1b, waste heat or CO2 or implying a connection to energy
infrastructure for hydrogen within the meaning of paragraph 1b, waste heat or CO2,
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the increase in the environmental protection may also result from the activities of
another entity involved in the infrastructure chain; or
(b) it shall enable the implementation of a project leading to an increase in the
environmental protection of the activities of the beneficiary; for projects linked to or
involving dedicated infrastructure referred to in Article 2, point (130) last paragraph
for hydrogen within the meaning of paragraph 1b, waste heat or CO2 or implying a
connection to energy infrastructure for hydrogen within the meaning of paragraph
1b, waste heat or CO2, the increase in the environmental protection may also result
from the activities of another entity involved in the infrastructure chain; or”;
(ii) the following point (c) is added:
“(c) it shall enable the implementation of a project leading to an increase in the
environmental protection of the activities of the beneficiary to comply with Union
standards that have been adopted but are not yet in force; for projects linked to or
involving dedicated infrastructure referred to in Article 2, point (130), last paragraph,
for hydrogen within the meaning of paragraph 1b, waste heat or CO2 or implying a
connection to energy infrastructure for hydrogen within the meaning of paragraph
1b, waste heat or CO2, the increase in the environmental protection may also result
from the activities of another entity involved in the infrastructure chain.”;
(e) the following paragraph 2a and 2b are inserted:
“2a. Investments in CCS and CCU shall fulfil the following cumulative conditions:
(a) the CO2 capture, transport, use and/or storage, including individual elements of the
CCS or CCU chain, shall be integrated into a complete CCS and/or CCU chain;
(b) the net present value (‘NPV’) of the investment project over its lifetime shall be
negative. For the purpose of calculating the project’s NPV, the avoided costs of CO2
emissions shall be taken into account;
(c) the eligible costs shall be exclusively the additional investment costs stemming from
the application of CCS or CCU technologies to a CO2-emitting installation (industrial
installation or power plant), compared to a counterfactual where such technologies
are not applied.
2b. When the aid aims at reducing direct emissions, in particular greenhouse gas emissions,
the aid must not merely displace the emissions from one sector to another and must deliver
overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”;
(f) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. Aid shall not be granted where investments are undertaken to ensure that undertakings
merely comply with the Union standards in force. Aid enabling undertakings to comply with
Union standards that have been adopted but not yet in force may be granted under this Article
provided that the investment for which the aid is granted is implemented and finalised at least
18 months before the date of entry into force of the standard concerned.”;
(g) paragraph 4 is deleted;
(h) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
“5. The eligible costs shall be the extra environmental investment costs determined by
comparing the costs of the investment to those of a counterfactual scenario that would occur
in the absence of the aid, as follows:
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(a) where the counterfactual scenario consists in carrying out a less environmentally-
friendly investment that corresponds to normal commercial practice in the sector or
for the activity concerned, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between
the costs of the investment for which State aid is granted and the costs of the less
environmentally-friendly investment;
(b) where the counterfactual scenario consists in carrying out the same investment at a
later point in time, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between the costs
of the investment for which State aid is granted and the Net Present Value of the
costs of the later investment, discounted to the point in time when the aided
investment would be undertaken;
(c) where the counterfactual scenario consists in maintaining the existing installations
and equipment in operation, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between
the costs of the investment for which State aid is granted and the Net Present Value
of the investments in the maintenance, repair and modernisation of the existing
installations and equipment, discounted to the point in time when the aided
investment would be undertaken;
(d) in the case of equipment subject to leasing agreements, the eligible costs shall consist
in the difference in Net Present Value between the leasing of equipment for which
State aid is granted and the leasing of the less environmentally-friendly equipment
that would be leased in the absence of the aid; the leasing costs shall not include
costs relating to the operation of the equipment or installation (fuel costs, insurance,
maintenance, other consumables), irrespective of whether they are part of the leasing
contract.
In all situations listed under points (a) to (d), the counterfactual scenario shall correspond to
an investment with comparable output capacity and lifetime that complies with Union
standards already in force. The counterfactual scenario shall be credible in the light of legal
requirements, market conditions and incentives generated by the EU ETS system.
Where the investment for which State aid is granted consists in the installation of an add-on
component to an already existing facility, for which there is no less environmentally-friendly
counterfactual investment, the eligible costs shall be the total investment costs.
Where the investment for which State aid is granted, consists in the construction of dedicated
infrastructure referred to in Article 2, point (130), last paragraph, for hydrogen within the
meaning of paragraph 1b, waste heat and CO2, that is necessary to enable the increase in the
level of environmental protection as referred to in paragraphs 2 and 2a, the eligible costs shall
be the total investment costs. Costs for the construction or upgrade of storage facilities, with
the exception of storage facilities for renewable hydrogen and hydrogen covered by paragraph
1b second sub-paragraph, shall not be eligible.
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of environmental protection
shall not be eligible.”;
(i) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
“6. The aid intensity shall not exceed 40 % of the eligible costs. Where the investment, with
the exception of those which rely on the use of biomass, results in a 100 % reduction of the
direct emissions primarily targeted by the measure, the aid intensity may reach 50 %.”;
(j) the following paragraphs 6a, 6b and 6c are inserted:
“6a. In case of investments relating to CCS and/or CCU, the aid intensity shall not exceed
30 %.
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6b. The aid intensity may reach 100 % of the eligible costs where aid is granted in a
competitive bidding process, which fulfils all of the following conditions in addition to those
laid down in Article 2, point (38):
(a) the aid award shall be based on clear, transparent and non-discriminatory eligibility
and selection criteria;
(b) ex post adjustments to the bidding process outcome (such as subsequent negotiations
on bid results) shall be excluded;
(c) the selection criteria used for ranking bids and, ultimately, for allocating the aid shall
be based primarily on the contribution to the objectives of the measure put in direct
or indirect relation with the aid amount requested by the applicant. Those criteria
shall not account for less than 70 % of the weighting of all the selection criteria;
(d) the selection criteria may also relate, for up to 30 % of the weighing of all the
selection criteria, to other aspects that are not directly or indirectly related to the
main objectives of the measure.
6c. Alternatively, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs
and the operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from the
eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections and verified ex post through a
claw-back mechanism.”;
(25) Article 36a is replaced by the following:
“Article 36a
Investment aid for recharging or refuelling infrastructure
1. Investment aid for recharging or refuelling infrastructure shall be compatible with the
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted
from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions
laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. This Article shall only cover aid granted for recharging or refuelling infrastructures that
supply vehicles, mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with
electricity or hydrogen. For aided refuelling infrastructure supplying hydrogen, the Member
State shall obtain from the beneficiary a commitment that by 2035 at the latest, the refuelling
infrastructure will solely supply renewable hydrogen. This Article does not apply to aid for
investments relating to recharging and refuelling infrastructure in ports.
3. The eligible costs shall be the costs of the construction, installation, upgrade or extension of
recharging or refuelling infrastructure. Those costs may include the costs of the recharging or
refuelling infrastructure itself and related technical equipment, the installation of or upgrades
to electrical or other components, including electrical cables and power transformers, required
for connecting the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to the grid or to a local electricity or
hydrogen production or storage unit, as well as civil engineering works, land or road
adaptations, installation costs and costs for obtaining related permits.
The eligible costs may also cover the investment costs of on-site production of renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen, and the investment costs of storage units for storing
renewable electricity or hydrogen. The nominal production capacity of the on-site renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen production installation shall not exceed the maximum rated
output or refuelling capacity of the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to which it is
connected.
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4. Aid under this Article shall be granted in a competitive bidding process, which fulfils all of
the following conditions in addition to those laid down in Article 2, point (38):
(a) the aid award shall be based on clear, transparent and non-discriminatory eligibility
and selection criteria;
(b) ex post adjustments to the bidding process outcome (such as subsequent negotiations
on bid results) shall be excluded;
(c) the selection criteria used for ranking bids and, ultimately, for allocating the aid shall
be based primarily on the contribution to the objectives of the measure put in direct
or indirect relation with the aid amount requested by the applicant. Those criteria
shall not account for less than 70 % of the weighting of all the selection criteria;
(d) the selection criteria may also relate, for up to 30 % of the weighing of all the
selection criteria, to other aspects that are not directly or indirectly related to the
main objectives of the measure.
5. Where the aid is granted in a competitive bidding process complying with the conditions of
paragraph 4, the aid intensity may reach up to 100 % of the eligible costs.
6. By derogation from paragraph 4, aid may be granted to SMEs in the absence of a
competitive bidding process. In this case, the aid intensity shall not exceed 40% of the eligible
costs. The aid intensity may be increased by 10 percentage points for small enterprises. The
aid intensity may also be increased by 15 percentage points for investments located in assisted
areas designated in an approved regional aid map in force at the time of provision of the aid in
application of in Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty or by 5 percentage points for
investments located in assisted areas designated in an approved regional aid map in force at
the time of provision of the aid in application of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty.
7. The aid granted to any one undertaking shall not exceed 40 % of the total budget of the
scheme concerned.
8. Where the recharging or refuelling infrastructure is open for access by users other than the
aid beneficiary or beneficiaries, aid shall only be granted for the construction, installation,
upgrade or extension of recharging or refuelling infrastructure accessible to the public and
providing non-discriminatory access to users, including in relation to tariffs, authentication
and payment methods and other terms and conditions of use. The fees charged to users other
than the aid beneficiary or beneficiaries for using the recharging or refuelling infrastructure
shall correspond to market prices.
9. Operators of recharging or refuelling infrastructure that offer or allow contract-based
payments on their infrastructure shall not discriminate between mobility service providers, for
example by applying preferential access conditions, or through price differentiation without
an objective justification.
10. The necessity of aid to invest in recharging or refuelling infrastructure of the same
category as the one to be supported with aid (for example, for recharging infrastructure:
normal or high power) shall be established through an ex ante open public consultation or an
independent market study. In particular, it shall be established that no such investment is
likely to take place on commercial terms within three years from the entry into application of
the aid measure.
The obligation to conduct an ex ante open public consultation or an independent market study
laid down in the first subparagraph shall not apply to aid for the construction, installation,
upgrade or extension of recharging or refuelling infrastructure that is not accessible to the
public.
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11. By way of derogation from paragraph 10, the necessity of aid for recharging or refuelling
infrastructure for road vehicles shall be presumed where vehicles powered exclusively by
electricity (for recharging infrastructures) or vehicles powered at least partially by hydrogen
(for refuelling infrastructures) represent respectively less than 2 % of the total number of
vehicles of the same category registered in the Member State concerned. For the purpose of
this paragraph, passenger cars and light-duty commercial vehicles shall be considered as
being part of the same category of vehicles.
12. Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to operate the supported recharging
or refuelling infrastructure shall be assigned on a competitive, transparent and non-
discriminatory basis, having due regard to the applicable procurement rules.
13. Where aid is granted for the deployment of new recharging infrastructure that allows for a
transfer of electricity with a power output of up to 22 kW, the infrastructure must be capable
of supporting smart recharging functionalities.”;
(26) the following Article 36b is inserted:
“Article 36b
Investment aid for the acquisition of clean vehicles or zero-emission vehicles and for the
retrofitting of vehicles
1. Investment aid for the acquisition of clean vehicles or zero-emission vehicles for road,
railway, inland waterway and maritime transport and for the retrofitting of vehicles other than
aircraft to qualify as clean vehicles or as zero-emission vehicles shall be compatible with the
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted
from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions
laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Aid shall be granted for the purchase or the leasing for a duration of at least 12 months of
clean vehicles powered at least partially by electricity or by hydrogen or zero-emission
vehicles and for the retrofitting of vehicles allowing them to qualify as clean vehicles or zero-
emission vehicles.
3. The eligible costs shall be the following:
(a) for investments consisting in the purchase of clean vehicles or zero-emission
vehicles, the extra costs of purchasing the clean vehicle or the zero-emission vehicle.
Those shall be calculated as the difference between the investment costs of
purchasing the clean vehicle or the zero-emission vehicle and the investment costs of
purchasing a vehicle of the same category that complies with applicable Union
standards already in force and would have been acquired without the aid;
(b) for investments consisting in the leasing of clean vehicles or zero-emission vehicles,
the extra costs of leasing the clean vehicle or the zero-emission vehicle. Those shall
be calculated as the difference between the net present value of leasing the clean
vehicle or the zero-emission vehicle and the net present value of leasing a vehicle of
the same category that complies with applicable Union standards already in force and
would have been leased without the aid. For the purposes of determining the eligible
costs, the operating costs linked to the operation of the vehicle, including energy
costs, insurance costs and maintenance costs, shall not be taken into account,
irrespective of whether they are included in the leasing contract;
(c) for investments consisting in the retrofitting of vehicles allowing them to qualify as
clean vehicles or zero-emission vehicles, the costs of the investment in the
retrofitting.
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4. Aid under this Article shall be granted in a competitive bidding process, which fulfils all of
the following conditions in addition to those laid down in Article 2, point (38):
(a) the aid award shall be based on clear, transparent and non-discriminatory eligibility
and selection criteria;
(b) ex post adjustments to the bidding process outcome (such as subsequent negotiations
on bid results) shall be excluded;
(c) the selection criteria used for ranking bids and, ultimately, for allocating the aid shall
be based primarily on the contribution to the objectives of the measure put in direct
or indirect relation with the aid amount requested by the applicant put in direct or
indirect relation with the contribution to the objectives of the measure. Those criteria
shall not account for less than 70 % of the weighting of all the selection criteria;
(d) the selection criteria may also relate to other aspects that are not directly or indirectly
related to the main objectives of the measure, for up to 30% of the weighing of all
the selection criteria.
5. Where the aid is granted in a competitive bidding process complying with the conditions of
paragraph 4, the aid intensity shall not exceed:
(a) 100 % of the eligible costs for the purchase or the leasing of zero-emission vehicles
or the retrofitting of vehicles allowing them to qualify as zero-emission vehicles;
(b) [80] % of the eligible costs for the purchase or the leasing of clean vehicles, or of the
retrofitting of vehicles allowing them to qualify as clean vehicles.
6. By derogation from paragraph 4, aid may be granted outside of a competitive bidding
process when it favours an SME or an undertaking that has been awarded a public service
contract for the provision of public passenger transport services by land, rail or water
following an open, transparent and non-discriminatory public tender.
In those cases, the aid intensity shall not exceed 40% of the eligible cost. The aid intensity
may be increased by by 10 percentage points for zero-emission vehicles and by 10 percentage
points for medium-sized enterprises or by 20 percentage points for small enterprises.”;
(27) Article 37 is deleted.
(28) Article 38 is amended as follows:
(a) the title is replaced by the following:
“Article 38
Investment aid for energy efficiency measures other than in buildings”;
(b) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
“1. Investment aid enabling undertakings to achieve energy efficiency other than in buildings
shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.”;
(c) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. Aid shall not be granted under this Article for investments undertaken to comply with
Union standards that have been adopted and are in force. Aid may be granted under this
Article for investments undertaken to comply with Union standards that have been adopted
but are not yet in force, provided that the investment is implemented and finalised at least 18
months before the standard enters into force.”;
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(d) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to achieve the higher level
of energy efficiency. They shall be determined by comparing the costs of the investment to
those of the counterfactual scenario that would occur in the absence of the aid, as follows:
(a) where the counterfactual scenario consists in carrying out a less energy-efficient
investment that corresponds to normal commercial practice in the sector or for the
activity concerned, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between the costs
of the investment for which State aid is granted and the costs of the less energy-
efficient investment.
(b) where the counterfactual scenario consists in carrying out the same investment at a
later point in time, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between the costs
of the investment for which State aid is granted and the Net Present Value of the
costs of the later investment, discounted to the point in time when the aided
investment would be undertaken;
(c) where the counterfactual scenario consists in maintaining the existing installations
and equipment in operation, the eligible costs shall consist in the difference between
the costs of the investment for which State aid is granted and the Net Present Value
of the investment in the maintenance, repair and modernisation of the existing
installation and equipment, discounted to the point in time when the aided investment
would be undertaken;
(d) In the case of equipment subject to leasing agreements, the eligible costs shall consist
in the difference in Net Present Value between the leasing of the equipment for
which State aid is granted and the leasing of the less energy-efficient equipment that
would be leased in the absence of aid; the leasing costs shall not include costs
relating to the operation of the equipment or installation (fuel costs, insurance,
maintenance, other consumables), irrespective of whether they are part of the leasing
contract;
In all situations listed under points (a) to (d), the counterfactual shall correspond to an
investment with comparable output capacity and lifetime that complies with Union standards
already in force. The counterfactual shall be credible in the light of legal requirements, market
conditions and incentives generated by the EU ETS system.
Where the investment consists in a clearly identifiable investment solely aimed at improving
energy efficiency, for which there is no less environmentally-friendly counterfactual
investment, the eligible costs shall be the total investment costs.
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of energy efficiency shall
not be eligible.”;
(e) paragraph 3a is replaced by the following;
“3a. Aid for the installation of oil-fired, coal-fired or natural gas-fired energy equipment shall
not be exempted under this Article from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the
Treaty.”;
(f) paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
“7. Aid may also be granted under this Article for the facilitation of energy performance
contracting, subject to the following cumulative conditions:
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(a) the support is provided to SMEs or small mid-caps that are providers of energy
performance improvement measures, and which are the final beneficiaries of the
support;
(b) the support is provided for the facilitation of energy performance contracting within
the meaning of Article 2, point (27), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
(c) the support takes the form of a senior loan or guarantee to the provider of the energy
efficiency improvement measures under an energy performance contract, or consists
in a financial product aimed at financing the provider (for example, factoring or
forfaiting);
(d) the duration of the loan or guarantee to the provider of energy efficiency
improvement measures is limited to maximum 10 years;
(e) where the aid takes the form of a senior loan, the co-investment by commercial
providers of debt funding is not lower than 30 % of the value of the underlying
porfolio of energy performance contracts, and the repayment by the provider of
energy efficiency improvement measures is at least equal to the nominal amount of
the loan;
(f) where the aid takes the form of a guarantee, the guarantee does not exceed 80 % of
the underlying loan’s principal and losses are sustained proportionally and under the
same conditions by the credit institution and the State. The guaranteed amount
decreases proportionally, in such a way that the guarantee never covers more than 80
% of the outstanding loan;
(g) the nominal amount of total outstanding financing provided under this paragraph per
beneficiary does not exceed EUR 30 million.”;
(29) the following Article 38a is inserted:
“Article 38a
Investment aid for energy efficiency measures in buildings
1. Investment aid enabling undertakings to achieve energy efficiency in buildings shall be
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Aid shall not be granted under this Article for investments undertaken to comply with
Union standards that have been adopted and are in force. Aid may be granted under this
Article for investments undertaken to comply with Union standards that have been adopted
but are not yet in force, provided that the investment is implemented and finalised at least 18
months before the standard enters into force.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, aid may be granted under this Article for
investments in buildings undertaken to comply with minimum energy performance standards
qualifying as Union standards, provided that the aid is granted before the standards become
mandatory for the undertaking concerned. The Member State must ensure that beneficiaries
provide a precise renovation plan and timetable demonstrating that the aided renovation is at
least sufficient to ensure compliance with the minimum energy performance standards.
4. This Article shall not apply to aid for cogeneration and aid for district heating or cooling.
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5. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs relating to the energy efficiency works. The
costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of energy efficiency shall not be
eligible.
6. The entire investment costs necessary to achieve a higher level of energy efficiency in
buildings constitute the eligible costs, provided that (i) the aid induces energy efficiency
improvements leading to a reduction in primary energy demand of at least 20 % compared to
the situation prior to the investment in the case of renovation of existing buildings, or (ii) the
aid induces energy efficiency improvements leading to a reduction in primary energy demand
of at least 10 % compared to the situation prior to the investment in the case of renovation
measures concerning the installation or replacement of just one type of building elements as
defined in Article 2(9) of Directive 2010/31/EU and such targeted renovation measures do not
represent more than 30 % of the part of the scheme’s budget dedicated to energy efficiency
measures, or (iii) the aid induces energy efficiency improvements leading to a reduction in
primary energy demand of at least 10 % compared to the threshold set for the nearly zero-
energy building requirements in national measures implementing Directive 2010/31/EU in the
case of new buildings. The initial primary energy demand and the estimated improvement
shall be established by reference to an Energy Performance Certificate as defined in Article
2(12) of Directive 2010/31/EU.
7. Where the investment relates to the improvement of the energy efficiency of (i) residential
buildings; (ii) buildings dedicated to the provision of education or social services; (iii)
buildings dedicated to activities related to public administration or to justice, law enforcement
or fire-fighting and civil protection services, or (iv) buildings referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii) and
in which activities other than those mentioned in (i), (ii) or (iii) occupy no more than 50 % of
the internal floor area, the aid granted for the improvement of the energy efficiency of the
building may be combined with aid for any or all of the following measures:
(a) the installation of integrated on-site equipment generating electricity, heating or
cooling from renewable energy sources, including but not limited to photovoltaic
panels and heat pumps;
(b) the installation of equipment for the storage of the energy generated by the on-site
renewable energy installations;
(c) investments in the connection to an energy efficient district heating and cooling
system and related equipment;
(d) the construction and installation of recharging infrastructure for use by the building
users, and related infrastructure, such as ducting, where the parking facilities are
located either inside the building or are physically adjacent to the building;
(e) the installation of equipment for the digitalisation of the building in particular to
increase its smart-readiness, including passive in-house wiring or structured cabling
for data networks and the ancillary part of the passive network on the property to
which the building belongs, but excluding wiring or cabling for data networks
outside the property;
(f) investments in green roofs and equipment for the retention and use of rain water.
In case of any such combined works, as set out in points (a) to (f), the entire investment cost
of the various installations and equipment shall constitute the eligible costs. The costs not
directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of energy or environmental performance
shall not be eligible.
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8. The aid may be granted either to the building owner(s) or the tenant(s), depending on who
is commissioning the energy efficiency works.
9. Aid may also be granted for the improvement of the energy efficiency of the heating or
cooling equipment inside the building.
10. Aid for the installation of oil-fired, coal-fired or natural gas-fired energy equipment shall
not be exempted under this Article from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the
Treaty.
11. The aid intensity shall not exceed 30 % of the eligible costs.
12. By way of derogation from paragraph 11, where the investment consists in the installation
or replacement of just one type of building element as defined in Article 2(9) of Directive
2010/31/EU, the aid intensity shall not exceed 25 %.
13. By way of derogation from paragraphs 11 and 12, where aid for investments in buildings
undertaken to comply with minimum energy performance standards qualifying as Union
standards is granted less than 18 months before the Union standards enter into force, the aid
intensity must not exceed 15 % of the eligible costs where the investment consists in the
installation or replacement of just one type of building element as defined in Article 2(9) of
Directive 2010/31/EU and 20 % in all other cases.
14. The aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small
undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings.
15. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments located in
assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage
points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of
the Treaty.
16. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for aid granted to improve the
energy efficiency of existing buildings, where the energy efficiency improvements lead to a
reduction in primary energy demand of at least 40 % compared to the situation prior to the
investment. This increase in aid intensity does not apply where the investment does not
improve the energy performance of the building beyond the level imposed by minimum
energy performance standards qualifying as Union standards entering into force within less
than 18 months from the moment the investment is implemented and finalised.
17. Aid may also be granted under this Article for the facilitation of energy performance
contracting, subject to the following cumulative conditions:
(a) the support is provided to SMEs or small mid-caps that are providers of energy
performance improvement measures, and which are the final beneficiaries of the
support;
(b) the support is provided for the facilitation of energy performance contracting within
the meaning of Article 2, point (27), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
(c) the support takes the form of a senior loan or guarantee to the provider of the energy
efficiency improvement measures under an energy performance contract, or consists
in a financial product aimed at financing the provider (for example, factoring or
forfaiting);
(d) the duration of the loan or guarantee to the provider of energy efficiency
improvement measures is limited to maximum 10 years;
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(e) where the aid takes the form of a senior loan, the co-investment by commercial
providers of debt funding is not lower than 30 % of the value of the underlying
porfolio of energy performance contracts, and the repayment by the provider of
energy efficiency improvement measures is at least equal to the nominal amount of
the loan;
(f) where the aid takes the form of a guarantee, the guarantee does not exceed 80 % of
the underlying loan’s principal and losses are sustained proportionally and under the
same conditions by the credit institution and the State. The guaranteed amount
decreases proportionally, in such a way that the guarantee never covers more than 80
% of the outstanding loan;
(g) the nominal amount of total outstanding financing provided under this paragraph per
beneficiary does not exceed EUR 30 million.;”
(30) Article 39 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraphs 2, 2a and 3 are replaced by the following:
“2. Eligible for aid under this Article are investments improving the energy efficiency of
buildings.
2a. Where the investment relates to the improvement of the energy efficiency of (i) residential
buildings, (ii) buildings dedicated to the provision of education or social services, (iii)
buildings dedicated to public administration or to justice, police or fire-fighting services, or
(iv) buildings referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii) and in which activities other than those mentioned
in (i), (ii) or (iii) occupy no more than 50 % of the floor area, the aid granted for the
improvement of the energy efficiency of the building may be combined with aid for any or all
of the following measures:
(a) the installation of integrated on-site equipment generating electricity, heating or
cooling from renewable energy sources, including but not limited to photovoltaic
panels and heat pumps;
(b) the installation of equipment for the storage of the energy generated by the on-site
renewable energy installations;
(c) investments in the connection to an energy efficient district heating and cooling
system and related equipment;
(d) the construction and installation of recharging infrastructure for use by the building
users, and related infrastructure, such as ducting, where the car park is located either
inside the building or is physically adjacent to the building;
(e) the installation of equipment for the digitalisation of the building, in particular to
increase its smart-readiness. Eligible investments may include interventions limited
to passive in-house wiring or structured cabling for data networks and the ancillary
part of the passive network on the property to which the building belongs, but
excluding wiring or cabling for data networks outside the property;
(f) investments in green roofs and equipment for the retention and use of rain water .
3. The eligible costs shall be the total costs of the energy efficiency project, except for
buildings referred to in paragraph 2a, where the eligible costs shall be the total costs of the
energy efficiency project as well as the investment cost of the various pieces of equipment
listed in paragraph 2a.”;
(b) in paragraph 5, the first and second sentence are replaced by the following:
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“5. The energy efficiency fund or other financial intermediary shall grant loans or guarantees
to the eligible energy efficiency projects. The nominal value of the loan or the amount
guaranteed shall not exceed EUR 20 million per final beneficiary and project, except in the
case of the combined investments referred to in paragraph 2a, where it shall not exceed EUR
30 million.”;
(c) paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
“7. The energy efficiency aid shall leverage additional investment from independent private
investors as defined in Article 2 point (72) reaching at minimum 30 % of the total financing
provided to an energy efficiency project. When the aid is provided by an energy efficiency
fund, the leverage of such private investment can be done at the level of the energy efficiency
fund and/or at the level of the energy efficiency projects, so as to achieve an aggregate
minimum 30 % of the total financing provided to an energy efficiency project.”;
(d) in paragraph 8, point (f) is replaced by the following:
“(f) The energy efficiency fund or financial intermediary shall be established in
accordance with the applicable laws and the Member State shall ensure a due
diligence process in order to verify that commercially sound investment strategy will
be applied for the purpose of implementing the energy efficiency aid measure.”;
(e) paragraph 10 is replaced by the following:
“10. Aid shall not be granted under this Article for investments undertaken to comply with
Union standards that have been adopted and are in force. Aid may be granted under this
Article for investments undertaken to comply with Union standards that have been adopted
but are not yet in force, provided that the investment is implemented and finalised at least 18
months before the standard enters into force.”;
(f) The following paragraph 10a is inserted:
“10a. By way of derogation from paragraph 10, aid may be granted under this Article for
investments undertaken to comply with minimum energy performance standards qualifying as
Union standards, provided that the aid is granted before the standards become mandatory for
the undertaking concerned. The Member State must ensure that beneficiaries provide a precise
renovation plan and timetable demonstrating that the aided renovation is at least sufficient to
ensure compliance with the minimum energy performance standards.”;
(g) the following paragraphs 11 and 12 are inserted:
“11. Aid may also be granted for the improvement of the energy efficiency of the heating or
cooling equipment inside the building.
12. Aid for the installation of oil-fired, coal-fired or natural gas-fired energy equipment shall
not be exempted under this Article from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the
Treaty.”;
(31) Article 40 is deleted;
(32) Article 41 is amended as follows:
(a) the title and paragraph 1 are replaced by the following:
“Article 41
Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources, renewable
hydrogen and high-efficiency cogeneration
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1. Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy sources, renewable
hydrogen and high-efficiency cogeneration shall be compatible with the internal market
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.”;
(b) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:
“1a. Investment aid for electricity storage projects under this Article shall be exempted from
the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only to the extent that it is granted
to combined renewable and storage projects (behind-the-meter), where both elements are
components of a single investment or where storage is connected to an existing renewable
generation installation. The storage component shall absorb at least 75 % of its energy from
directly connected renewable energy generation, on an annual basis. All investment
components (generation and storage) are considered an integrated project for verification of
compliance with the thresholds set out in Article 4. The same rules shall apply to thermal
storage directly connected to a renewable energy production installation.”;
(c) paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:
“2. Investment aid for the production and storage of biofuels, bioliquids, biogas and biomass
fuels shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only
to the extent that the aided fuels are compliant with the sustainability and greenhouse gases
emissions saving criteria of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and its implementing or delegated acts
and are made from the feedstock listed in Annex IX to that Directive. The storage component
shall obtain at least 75 % of its fuel content from directly connected biofuels, bioliquids,
biogas and biomass fuels production installations, on an annual basis. All investment
components (production and storage) are considered an integrated project for verification of
compliance with the thresholds set out in Article 4.
3. Investment aid for the production of hydrogen shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only for installations producing exclusively
renewable hydrogen. For renewable hydrogen projects consisting of an electrolyser and one or
more renewable generation units behind a single grid connection point, the capacity of the
electrolyser shall not exceed the combined capacity of the renewable generation units. The
investment aid may cover dedicated infrastructure for the transmission or distribution of
renewable hydrogen, as well as storage facilities for renewable hydrogen.
4. Investment aid for new or refurbished high-efficiency cogeneration units shall be exempted
from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only to the extent that they
provide overall primary energy savings compared to separate production of heat and
electricity as provided for by Directive 2012/27/EU or any subsequent legislation replacing
this act in full or in part.”;
(d) the following paragraph 4a is inserted:
“4a. Investment aid for high-efficiency cogeneration shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only if it is not for fossil fuel fired cogeneration
installations, with the exception of natural gas where compliance with the 2030 and 2050
climate targets is ensured [in line with Annex 1 of the Complementary Climate Delegated Act
of the EU Taxonomy Regulation].”;
(e) paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 are replaced by the following:
“5. The investment aid shall be granted in respect of newly installed or refurbished capacities.
The aid amount shall be independent from the output.
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6. The eligible costs shall be the total investment cost.
7. The aid intensity shall not exceed:
(a) 15 % of the eligible costs for electricity storage;
(b) 30 % of the eligible costs for any other investment covered by this Article.”;
(f) paragraphs 9 and 10 are replaced by the following:
“9. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments using only
renewable energy sources, including heat pumps compliant with Annex VII of Directive
2018/2001 and renewable cogeneration.
10. The aid intensity may reach 100 % of the eligible costs where aid is granted in a
competitive bidding process, which fulfils all of the following conditions in addition to those
laid down in Article 2, point (38):
(a) the aid award shall be based on clear, transparent and non-discriminatory eligibility
and selection criteria, defined ex ante and published at least six weeks in advance of
the deadline for submitting applications, to enable effective competition;
(b) the design of undersubscribed bidding processes during the implementation of a
scheme shall be corrected to restore effective competition in the subsequent bidding
processes;
(c) ex post adjustments to the bidding process outcome (such as subsequent negotiations
on bid results or rationing) shall be excluded;
(d) the selection criteria used for ranking bids and, ultimately, for allocating the aid shall
be based primarily on the contribution to the objectives of the measure put in direct
or indirect relation with the aid amount requested by the applicant. Those criteria
shall not account for less than 70 % of the weighting of all the selection criteria;
(e) the selection criteria may also relate, for up to 30 % of the weighing of all the
selection criteria, to other aspects that are not directly or indirectly related to the
main objectives of the measure.”;
(33) Article 42 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:
“2. Aid shall be granted in a competitive bidding process, which fulfils all of the following
conditions in addition to those laid down in Article 2, point (38):
(a) the aid award shall be based on clear, transparent and non-discriminatory eligibility
and selection criteria, defined ex ante and published at least six weeks in advance of
the deadline for submitting applications, to enable effective competition;
(b) the design of undersubscribed bidding processes during the implementation of a
scheme shall be corrected to restore effective competition in the subsequent bidding
processes;
(c) ex post adjustments to the bidding process outcome (such as subsequent negotiations
on bid results or rationing) shall be excluded;
(d) the selection criteria used for ranking bids and, ultimately, for allocating the aid shall
be based primarily on the contribution to the objectives of the measure put in direct
or indirect relation with the aid amount requested by the applicant. Those criteria
shall not account for less than 70 % of the weighting of all the selection criteria;
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(e) the selection criteria may also relate, for up to 30 % of the weighing of all the
selection criteria, to other aspects that are not directly or indirectly related to the
main objectives of the measure.
The bidding process shall be open to all generators producing electricity from renewable
energy sources on a non-discriminatory basis.
3. The bidding process can be limited to specific technologies where the level of support that
different categories of beneficiaries are expected to require through their respective bids
differs by more than 10 %. Specific technologies should be understood as wind, solar (solar
thermal and solar photovoltaic) and geothermal energy, ambient energy, tide, wave and other
ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, and biogas as
well as those with a specific technology-based target established in Union law.
The bidding process cannot be geographically limited to a specific region of a Member
State.”;
(b) paragraphs 6 and 7 are replaced by the following:
“6. Aid beneficiaries shall sell their electricity directly in the market and be subject to
standard balancing responsibilities. Beneficiaries may outsource balancing responsibilities to
other undertakings on their behalf, such as aggregators. Furthermore, aid shall not be paid for
any periods where prices are negative. For the avoidance of doubt, this applies as of the
moment when prices turn negative.
7. Small-scale renewable electricity installations may benefit from aid in the form of direct
price support that covers the full costs of operation and from an exemption from the
requirement to sell the electricity produced on the market, in line with Article 4(3) of
Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Installations will be considered as small-scale for the purposes of
this paragraph if their capacity is below the applicable threshold under Article 5(2)(b) or
Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943.”;
(c) paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 are deleted;
(d) paragraph 11 is replaced by the following:
“11. Aid shall only be granted over the lifetime of the project.”;
(34) Article 43 is amended as follows:
(a) the heading and paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:
“Article 43
Operating aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources and renewable
hydrogen in small projects and renewable energy communities
1. Operating aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources and renewable hydrogen
in small projects and renewable energy communities shall be compatible with the internal
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. For the purposes of this Article small projects are defined as follows:
(i) for electricity generation or storage – projects below or equal to 1 MW of installed
capacity;
(ii) for electricity consumption – projects with a maximum demand below or equal to 1
MW;
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(iii) for heat generation and gas production technologies – projects below or equal to 1
MW of installed capacity or equivalent;
(iv) for the production of renewable hydrogen – projects below or equal to 3 MW of
installed capacity or equivalent;
(v) for the production of biofuels, bioliquids, biogas and biomass fuels – projects below
or equal to 25,000 tonnes/year of installed capacity;
(vi) for 100 % SME-owned projects – projects equal to or below 6 MW installed capacity
or maximum demand;
(vii) for wind generation projects 100 % owned by micro or small enterprises – projects
equal to or below 18 MW of installed capacity.”;
(b) the following paragraphs 2a and 2b are inserted:
“2a. Aid to renewable energy communities shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only for projects with an installed capacity or
maximum demand equal or below 6 MW from all renewable sources except for wind energy,
for which aid shall be granted to installations with an installed capacity equal to or below 18
MW.
2b. Operating aid for the production of hydrogen shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only for installations producing exclusively
renewable hydrogen.”;
(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. Operating aid for the production of biofuels, bioliquids, biogas and biomass fuels shall be
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only to the extent
that the aided fuels are compliant with the sustainability and greenhouse gases emissions
saving criteria of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and its implementing or delegated acts and are
made from the feedstock listed in Annex IX to that Directive.”
(d) paragraph 4 is deleted;
(e) paragraph 5, 6 and 7 are replaced by the following:
“5. Aid shall be limited to the minimum needed for carrying out the aided project or activity.
This condition is fulfilled if the aid corresponds to the net extra cost (‘funding gap’) necessary
to meet the objective of the aid measure, compared to the counterfactual scenario in the
absence of aid. A detailed assessment of the net extra cost is not required if the aid amounts
are determined through a competitive bidding process, because the latter provides a reliable
estimate of the minimum aid required by potential beneficiaries.
6. Aid shall only be granted over the lifetime of the project.
7. Aid beneficiaries shall sell their electricity directly in the market and be subject to standard
balancing responsibilities. Beneficiaries may outsource balancing responsibilities to other
undertakings on their behalf, such as aggregators. Furthermore, aid shall not be paid for any
periods where prices are negative. For the avoidance of doubt, this applies as of the moment
when prices turn negative.”;
(f) the following paragraph 8 is inserted:
“8. Small-scale renewable electricity installations may benefit from aid in the form of direct
price support that covers the full costs of operation and from an exemption from the
requirement to sell the electricity produced on the market, in line with Article 4(3) of
Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Installations will be considered as small-scale for the purposes of
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this paragraph if their capacity is below the applicable threshold under Article 5(2)(b) or
Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943.”;
(35) Article 44 is replaced by the following:
“Article 44
Aid in the form of reductions in taxes under Directive 2003/96/EC
1. Aid schemes in the form of reductions in taxes fulfilling the conditions of Council
Directive 2003/96/EC shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in
Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The beneficiaries of the tax reduction shall be selected on the basis of transparent and
objective criteria and shall pay at least the the minimum level of taxation laid down in
Annex I to Council Directive 2003/96/EC.
3. Aid schemes in the form of tax reductions may be based on a reduction of the applicable
tax rate or on the payment of a fixed compensation amount or on a combination of these
mechanisms.
4. Tax reductions for the products defined in Article 16(1) of Council Directive 2003/96/EC
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty only to the
extent that the aided fuels are compliant with the sustainability and greenhouse gases
emissions saving criteria of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and its implementing or delegated acts,
and are made from the feedstock listed in Annex IX to that Directive.
5. Tax reductions in favour of energy-intensive businesses defined in Article 17(1), point (a)
of Council Directive 2003/96/EC shall be exempted from the notification requirement of
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided those beneficiaries that are obliged to conduct an
energy audit under Article 8 of Directive 2012/27/EU implement the recommendations of the
latest audit report. This requirement to implement the recommendations of the most recent
audit report will apply every four years, starting from the grant of the first tax reduction and
until the reduction ceases to apply, and it covers those recommended investment(s) that meet
the following two cumulative conditions:
(a) they have a pay-back time not exceeding three years;
(b) the cost does not exceed the amount of reductions granted in the relevant four-year
period. In case the audit report recommends two or more investments, as many as
possible of those must be implemented insofar as their combined total costs do not
exceed the amount of reductions granted in the relevant four-year period.
Member States shall monitor that all concerned beneficiaries comply with the obligation laid
down in this paragraph.”;
(36) the following Article 44a is inserted:
“Article 44a
Aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes or parafiscal levies
1. Aid schemes in the form of reductions in environmental taxes or parafiscal levies shall be
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. This Article shall
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not apply to reductions in taxes or levies on energy products, including electricity, determined
in Article 2 of Council Directive 2003/96/EC.
2. Aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes or parafiscal levies shall be
compatible only where the reduction allows to achieve a higher level of environmental
protection by including in the scope of the environmental tax or levy undertakings that would
not be able to pursue their economic activities without the reduction.
3. Only those undertakings that would not be able to pursue their economic activities without
the reduction are eligible for aid. For the purposes of this Article, this is considered the case
for undertakings whose production costs would substantially increase due to the
environmental tax or parafiscal levy without the reduction and which are not able to pass that
increase on to customers without significant reductions in sales volumes. The increase in the
production costs shall be calculated as a proportion of the gross value added for each sector or
category of beneficiaries.
4. The beneficiaries shall be selected on the basis of transparent, non-discriminatory and
objective criteria. The aid shall be granted in the same way to all eligible undertakings
operating in the same sector of economic activity that are in the same or similar factual
situation in respect of the objectives of the aid measure.
5. The gross grant equivalent of the aid shall not exceed 80 % of the nominal rate of the tax or
levy.
6. Aid schemes in the form of reductions in environmental taxes or parafiscal levies may be
based on a reduction of the applicable tax rate or on the payment of a fixed compensation
amount or on a combination of these mechanisms.”;
(37) Articles 45 and 46 are replaced by the following:
“Article 45
Investment aid for the remediation of environmental damage, the rehabilitation of
natural habitats and ecosystems, the protection or restoration of biodiversity and the
implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation
1. Investment aid for the remediation of environmental damage, the rehabilitation of natural
habitats and ecosystems, the protection or restoration of biodiversity and the implementation
of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation shall be compatible
with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the
conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Aid under this Article maybe granted for the following activities :
(a) the remediation of environmental damage, including damage to the quality of the
soil, surface water or groundwater or to the marine environment;
(b) the rehabilitation of natural habitats and ecosystems from a degraded state;
(c) the protection or restoration of biodiversity or of ecosystems to contribute to
achieving the good condition of ecosystems or to protect ecosystems that are already
in good condition;
(d) the implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and
mitigation.
EN EN
3. This Article shall not apply to aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters,
such as earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions
and wild fires of natural origin.
4. Aid for remediation or rehabilitation following the closure of power plants and mining or
extraction operations shall not be exempted under this Article from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
5. Without prejudice to Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council*
or other relevant Union rules on liability for environmental damage, where the entity or
undertaking liable for the environmental damage under the law applicable in each Member
State is identified, that entity or undertaking shall finance the works necessary to prevent and
correct environmental degradation and contamination in accordance with the ‘polluter pays’
principle, and no aid shall be granted for the works that the entity or undertaking would be
legally required to conduct. The Member State shall take all necessary measures, including
legal action, to identify the liable entity or undertaking at the origin of the environmental
damage and make it bear the relevant costs. Where the entity or undertaking liable under the
applicable law cannot be identified or made to bear the costs of remediating the
environmental damage it has caused, in particular because the liable undertaking has ceased to
legally exist and no other undertaking can be regarded as its legal or economic successor, or
where there is insufficient financial security to meet the costs of remediation, aid may be
granted to support the remediation or rehabilitation works. Aid shall not be granted for the
implementation of compensatory measures referred to in Article 6(4) of Council Directive
92/43/EEC**. Aid may be granted under this Article to cover the extra costs necessary to
increase the scope or ambition of those measures, beyond the legal obligations under Article
6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC.
6. For investments in the remediation of environmental damage or the rehabilitation of natural
habitats and ecosystems, the eligible costs shall be the costs incurred for the remediation or
rehabilitation works, less the increase in the value of the land or property.
7. Evaluations of the increase in the value of the land or property resulting from remediation
or rehabilitation shall be carried out by an independent qualified expert.
8. For investments in the protection or restoration of biodiversity and in the implementation of
nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation, the eligible costs shall be
the total costs of the works resulting in the contribution to protecting or restoring biodiversity
or in the implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and
mitigation.
9. The aid intensity shall not exceed:
(a) 100 % of the eligible costs for investments in the remediation of environmental
damage or the rehabilitation of natural habitats and ecosystems;
(b) 70 % of the eligible costs for investments in the protection or restoration of
biodiversity and in nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and
mitigation.
10. The aid intensity for investments in the protection or restoration of biodiversity and in the
implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation may
be increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small undertakings and by 10
percentage points for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings.
Article 46
Investment aid for energy efficient district heating and cooling
EN EN
1. Investment aid for the construction or upgrade of energy efficient district heating and
cooling systems shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article
107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article
108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I
are fulfilled.
1a. Aid shall only be granted for the construction or upgrade of district heating and cooling
systems which are or are to become energy efficient as defined in Article 2, point (41), of
Directive 2012/27/EU. Where the system does not yet become fully energy efficient as a
result of the supported works on the distribution network, the additional upgrades required to
fullfil the conditions for falling under the definition of energy efficient district heating and
cooling shall commence within three years from the start of the supported works on the
distribution network.
1b. Aid may be granted for for energy efficient generation based on renewable sources,
including heat pumps compliant with Annex VII of Directive 2018/2001, waste heat or high-
efficient cogeneration, as well as thermal storage solutions. Aid for energy efficient
generation based on waste may be based either on waste that meets the definition of
renewable energy sources or waste used to fuel installations that meet the definition of high-
efficiency cogeneration.
1c. Aid shall not be granted for the construction or upgrade of fossil fuel based generation
facilities, except for natural gas. Aid for the construction or upgrade of natural gas based
generation facilities may be granted only where compliance with the 2030 and 2050 climate
targets is ensured [in line with Annex 1 of the Complementary Climate Delegated Act of the
EU Taxonomy Regulation].
1d. Aid for upgrades of storage and distribution networks that transmit heating and cooling
generated based on fossil fuels may only be granted where all of the following conditions are
met:
(a) the distribution network is or becomes suitable for the transmission of heating or
cooling generated from renewable energy sources;
(b) the upgrade does not result in an increased generation of energy from fossil fuels
except for natural gas;
(c) in case of an upgrade to the storage or network distributing heating and cooling
generated from natural gas, compliance with the 2030 and 2050 climate targets is
ensured, [in line with Annex 1 of the Complementary Climate Delegated Act of the
EU Taxonomy Regulation].
2. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs related to the construction or upgrade of an
energy efficient district heating and cooling system.
3. The aid intensity shall not exceed 30 % of the eligible costs. The aid intensity may be
increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage
points for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings.
4. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for investments using only
renewable energy sources, including renewable cogeneration.
5. As an alternative to paragraph 3, the aid intensity may reach up to 100 % of the funding
gap. The aid shall be limited to the minimum needed for carrying out the aided project or
activity. This condition is fulfilled if the aid corresponds to the net extra cost (‘funding gap’)
necessary to meet the objective of the aid measure, compared to the counterfactual scenario in
the absence of aid. A detailed assessment of the net extra cost is not required if the aid
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amounts are determined through a competitive bidding process, because it provides a reliable
estimate of the minimum aid required by potential beneficiaries.
______________
* Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental
liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56).
** Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7).”;
(38) Article 47 is amended as follows:
(a) the title and paragraphs 1 to 8 are replaced by the following:
“Article 47
Investment aid for resource efficiency and for supporting the transition towards a
circular economy
1. Investment aid for resource efficiency and circularity shall be compatible with the internal
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The aid shall be granted for the following types of investments:
(a) investments improving resource efficiency through one or both of the following:
(i) a net reduction in the resources consumed in the production of a given quantity
of output compared to a pre-existing production process used by the
beneficiary or to alternative projects or activities listed under paragraph 7. The
resources consumed shall include all material resources consumed, with the
exception of energy, and the reduction shall be determined by measuring or
estimating consumption before and after the implementation of the aid
measure, taking into account any adjustment for external conditions that may
affect resource consumption;
(ii) the replacement of primary raw materials or feedstock with secondary (re-used
or recovered, including recycled) raw materials or feedstock;
(b) investments for the prevention and reduction of waste generation, preparing for re-
use, decontaminating and recycling of waste generated by the beneficiary or
investments for the preparing for re-use, decontaminating and recycling of waste
generated by third parties and which would otherwise be unused, disposed of, or be
treated based on a treatment operation that is situated lower in the priority order of
the waste hierarchy referred to in Article 4, point (1) of Directive 2008/98/EC or in a
less resource-efficient manner, or would lead to a lower quality of recycling output;
(c) investments for the collection, sorting, decontamination, pre-treatment and treatment
of other products, materials or substances generated by the beneficiary or by third
parties and which would otherwise be unused or used in a less resource-efficient
manner;
(d) investments for the separate collection and sorting of waste with a view to its
preparing for re-use or recycling.
3. Aid for waste disposal and waste recovery operations to generate energy shall not be
exempted under this Article from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
EN EN
4. The aid shall not relieve undertakings that generate waste from any costs or obligations
relating to the treatment of waste for which they are liable under Union or national law,
including under extended producer responsibility schemes, or from costs that should be
considered as normal costs for an undertaking.
5. The aid must not incentivise the generation of waste or the increased use of resources.
6. The investment shall go beyond economically profitable or established commercial
practices that are generally applied throughout the Union and across technologies. From a
technological perspective, the investment should lead to a higher degree of resource efficiency
as compared to normal practice in the Union market.
7. The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs determined by comparing the total
investment costs of the project with those of a less environmentally-friendly project or activity
that may be one of the following:
(a) a comparable investment that would credibly be realised without aid and which does
not achieve the same level of resource efficiency;
(b) treating the waste based on a treatment operation that is situated lower in the priority
order of the waste hierarchy referred to in Article 4, point (1) of Directive
2008/98/EC or treating the waste, other products, materials or substances in a less
resource-efficient way;
(c) the conventional production process relating to the primary raw material or product,
if the secondary (re-used or recovered) product is technically and economically
substitutable with the primary raw material or product.
Where the investment consists in installing an add-on component to an already existing
facility, for which there is no less environmentally-friendly equivalent, or where the aid
applicant can demonstrate that no investment would take place in the absence of aid, the
eligible costs shall be the total investment costs.
8. The aid intensity shall not exceed 40 % of the eligible costs. The aid intensity may be
increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage
points for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings.”;
(b) paragraph 10 is replaced by the following:
“10. Aid shall not be granted under this Article for investments undertaken to comply with
Union standards that have been adopted and are in force. Aid may be granted under this
Article for investments undertaken to comply with Union standards that have been adopted
but are not yet in force, provided that the investment is implemented and finalised at least 18
months before the standard enters into force.”;
(39) Articles 48 and 49 are replaced by the following:
“Article 48
Investment aid for energy infrastructure
1. Investment aid for the construction or upgrade of energy infrastructure shall be compatible
with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the
conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Aid for energy infrastructure that is partly or fully exempted from third party access or
tariff regulation in accordance with internal energy market legislation shall not be exempted
under this Article from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
EN EN
3. Aid for gas infrastructure shall only be exempted from the notification requirement of
Article 108(3) of the Treaty where the infrastructure in question is dedicated to the use for
hydrogen and/or for renewable gases, or used for the transport of more than 50% hydrogen
and renewable gases.
4. The eligible costs shall be the [total] investment costs.
5. The aid intensity may reach up to 100 % of the funding gap. The aid shall be limited to the
minimum needed for carrying out the aided project or activity. This condition is fulfilled if the
aid corresponds to the net extra cost (‘funding gap’) necessary to meet the objective of the aid
measure, compared to the counterfactual scenario in the absence of aid. A detailed assessment
of the net extra cost is not required if the aid amounts are determined through a competitive
bidding process, because it provides a reliable estimate of the minimum aid required by
potential beneficiaries.
6. Aid for investments in electricity and gas storage projects shall not be exempt from the
notification requirement under this Article.
Article 49
Aid for studies and consultancy services on environmental protection and energy
matters
1. Aid for studies or consultancy services, including energy audits, directly linked to
investments eligible for aid under this Section shall be compatible with the internal market
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. Where the entire study or consultancy service concerns investments eligible for aid under
this Section, the eligible costs shall be the costs of the study or consultancy service. Where
only part of the study or consultancy service concerns investments eligible for aid under this
Section, the eligible costs shall be the costs of the part of the study or consultancy service
relating to those investments.
2a. Aid shall be granted irrespective of whether the findings of the study or the consultancy
service are followed by an investment eligible for aid under this Section.
3. The aid intensity shall not exceed 60 % of the eligible costs.
4. The aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for studies or consultancy
services undertaken on behalf of small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for studies
or consultancy services undertaken on behalf of medium-sized undertakings.
5. Aid shall not be granted for energy audits carried out to comply with Directive
2012/27/EU, unless the energy audit is carried out in addition to the mandatory energy audit
under that Directive.”;
(40) Article 52 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. The eligible costs shall be all costs for the construction, management and operation of a
fixed broadband network. The maximum aid amount for a project shall be established on the
basis of a competitive selection process as set out in paragraph 6, point (a). Where an
investment is carried out in accordance with paragraph 6, point (b), without a competitive
selection process, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs
and the normal operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from
EN EN
the eligible costs ex ante on the basis of reasonable projections and verified ex post through a
claw-back mechanism.”;
(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. The following alternative types of investment are eligible:
(a) fixed broadband network deployment to connect households and socioeconomic
drivers in areas where there is no network providing a speed of at least 100 Mbps
download under peak-time conditions (threshold speed) present or credibly planned
to be deployed within the relevant time horizon. This shall be verified by mapping
and public consultation in accordance with paragraph 4;
(b) fixed broadband network deployment to connect only socio-economic drivers in
areas where there is only one network providing a speed of at least 100 Mbps
download but below 300 Mbps download under peak-time conditions (threshold
speed) present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time horizon.
This shall be verified by mapping and public consultation in accordance with
paragraph 4.
Areas where there is at least one network providing a speed of at least 100 Mbps download
that can be upgraded to provide a speed of at least 1 Gbps download shall be excluded under
both sub-paragraphs (a) and (b). A network is considered to be upgradable to provide a speed
of at least 1Gbps download if it can provide this speed on the basis of limited investment,
such as an upgrade of active equipment, without significant investment in passive
infrastructure.”;
(c) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4. The mapping and public consultation referred to in paragraph 3 shall meet the following
requirements cumulatively:
(a) the mapping shall identify the geographic target areas envisaged to be covered under
the public intervention and shall take into account all present networks. The mapping
shall be performed:
(i) for fixed wired networks, at address level on the basis of premises passed; and
(ii) for fixed wireless access networks, at address level on the basis of premises
passed or on the basis of maximum 100 x100 metre grids.
All the elements of the methodology and the underlying technical criteria used to
map the target areas must be made publicly available. Mapping shall always be
verified through a public consultation;
and
(b) the public consultation shall be carried out by the competent public authority through
publication of the main characteristics of the planned State intervention and the list
of geographic target areas identified in the mapping exercise in accordance with
point (a) on the website of the aid granting authority and, if the granting authority is
not at central level, on the website of a central national authority. The public
consultation shall invite interested parties to comment on the planned State
intervention and to submit substantiated information in accordance with point (a)
regarding their networks providing the threshold speeds set out in paragraph 3 that
are present or credibly planned to be deployed in the target area within the relevant
time horizon. The public consultation shall last at least 30 days.”;
EN EN
(d) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
“5. The aided project shall bring a significant improvement (step change) compared to
networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time horizon, in
accordance with paragraph 4. Credibly planned networks must be taken into account for the
assessment of the step-change only if they would, on their own, provide similar performance
to that of the planned State funded network in the target areas within the relevant time
horizon. A step change takes place if, as a result of the subsidised intervention, a significant
new investment in the broadband network is undertaken and the subsidised network brings
significant new capabilities to the market in terms of broadband service availability, capacity,
speeds and competition compared to the present or credibly planned networks within the
relevant time horizon. The project must include substantial investments in passive
infrastructure. In any case, any eligible interventions, as laid down in paragraph 3, must result
at least in the following improvements:
(a) for interventions under paragraph 3, point (a), the aided network shall at least triple
the download speed compared to the present or credibly planned networks (target
speed);
(b) for interventions under paragraph 3, point (b), the aided network shall at least triple
the download speed compared to the present or credibly planned networks and shall
provide a speed of at least 1 Gbps download under peak-time conditions (target
speed).”;
(e) paragraph 6(a) is replaced by the following:
“6. The aid shall be granted as follows:
(a) the aid shall be allocated on the basis of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory
competitive selection procedure in line with the principles of public procurement
rules and respecting the principle of technology neutrality, without prejudice to the
applicable public procurement rules, based on the most economically advantageous
offer. For the purposes of the competitive selection procedure, the aid granting
authority shall establish in advance objective, transparent and non-discriminatory
qualitative award criteria that have to be weighed against the requested aid amount;
(b) when the aid is granted without a competitive selection procedure to a public
authority to deploy and manage, directly or through an in-house entity, a fixed
broadband network, the public authority or the in-house entity, as the case may be,
shall provide only wholesale services using the subsidised network. Any concession
or other entrustment to a third party to build or operate the network shall be allocated
through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory competitive selection
procedure, in line with the principles of public procurement rules and respecting the
principle of technology neutrality, without prejudice to the to the applicable public
procurement rules, based on the most economically advantageous offer.”;
(f) paragraphs 7 and 8 are replaced by the following:
“7. The operation of the subsidised network shall offer active and passive wholesale access, in
accordance with Article 2, point (139), under fair and non-discriminatory conditions.
Exceptionally, projects eligible under Article 52(3), point (a) may offer virtual unbundling
instead of physical unbundling if the virtual access product is approved by the national
regulatory authority. Active wholesale access shall be granted for at least ten years from the
start of the operation of the network and the wholesale access to the physical infrastructure
including ducts, masts, poles and towers shall be granted for the lifespan of the elements
concerned. The same access conditions shall apply to the entirety of the subsidised network,
EN EN
including on parts of the network where existing infrastructures have been used. The access
obligations shall be enforced irrespective of any change in ownership, management or
operation of the subsidised network. In the case of aid for the construction of passive
infrastructure such as ducts, masts, poles and towers, these elements shall cater for at least
three networks and different network topologies.
8. The wholesale access price shall be based on one of the following benchmarks: (i) the
average published wholesale prices that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas
of the Member State; or (ii) the regulated prices already set or approved by the national
regulatory authority for the markets and services concerned; or (iii) cost orientation or the
methodology mandated in accordance with the sectorial regulatory framework. Without
prejudice to the competences of the national regulatory authority under the regulatory
framework, the national regulatory authority shall be consulted on wholesale access products,
the terms and conditions for access, including on prices, and on disputes related to the
application of this Article.”;
(g) the following paragraph 10 is inserted:
“10. To ensure that aid remains proportional and does not lead to overcompensation or cross-
subsidisation of non-aided activities, the aid beneficiary must ensure accounting separation
between the funds used for the deployment and the operation of the network and other funds
at its disposal.”;
(41) Article 52a is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. The eligible costs shall be all costs for the construction, management and operation of
passive and active components of a mobile network. The maximum aid amount for a project
shall be established on the basis of a competitive selection process as set out in paragraph 7,
point (a). Where an investment is carried out in accordance with paragraph 7, point (b),
without a competitive selection process, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference
between the eligible costs and the normal operating profit of the investment. The operating
profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante on the basis of reasonable projections
and verified ex post through a claw-back mechanism.”
(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. Support to mobile 5G investment shall be located in areas where there are no 4G and no
5G mobile networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time
horizon. Support to mobile 4G investment shall be located in areas where there are no 3G, 4G
or 5G mobile networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time
horizon. These requirements shall be verified by mapping and public consultation in
accordance with paragraph 4.”;
(c) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4. The mapping and public consultation referred to in paragraph 3 shall meet the following
requirements cumulatively:
(a) the mapping shall clearly identify the geographic target areas envisaged to be
covered under the public intervention and shall take into account all mobile
networks. Mapping shall be performed on the basis of maximum 100 x100 metre
grids. All the elements of the methodology and the underlying technical criteria used
to map the target areas must be made publicly available. Mapping shall always be
verified through a public consultation;
EN EN
and
(b) the public consultation shall be carried out by the competent public authority through
publication of the main characteristics of the planned State intervention and the list
of geographic target areas identified in the mapping exercise in accordance with
point (a) on the website of the aid granting authority and, if the granting authority is
not at central level, on the website of a central national authority. The public
consultation shall invite interested parties to comment on the planned State
intervention and to submit substantiated information in accordance with point (a)
regarding their mobile networks with the characteristics set out in paragraph 3 that
are present or credibly planned to be deployed in the target area within the relevant
time horizon. The public consultation shall last at least 30 days.”;
(d) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
“6. The supported project shall bring a significant improvement (step change) compared to
mobile networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time horizon,
in accordance with paragraph 4. Credibly planned networks must be taken into account for the
assessment of the step-change only if they would, on their own, provide similar performance
to that of the planned State funded network in the target areas within the relevant time
horizon. A step change takes place if, as a result of the subsidised intervention, a significant
new investment in the mobile network is undertaken and the subsidised network brings
significant new capabilities to the market in terms of mobile service availability, capacity,
speeds and competition compared to the present or credibly planned networks within the
relevant time horizon. The project must include substantial investments in passive
infrastructure.”;
(e) paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
“7. The aid shall be granted as follows:
(a) the aid shall be allocated on the basis of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory
competitive selection procedure in line with the principles of public procurement
rules and respecting the principle of technology neutrality, without prejudice to the
applicable public procurement rules, based on the most economically advantageous
offer. For the purposes of the competitive selection procedure, the aid granting
authority shall establish in advance objective, transparent and non-discriminatory
qualitative award criteria that have to be weighed against the requested aid amount;
(b) when the aid is granted without a competitive selection procedure to a public
authority to deploy and manage, directly or through an in-house entity, a mobile
network, the public authority or the in-house entity, as the case may be, shall provide
only wholesale services using the subsidised network. Any concession or other
entrustment to a third party to build or operate the network shall be allocated through
an open, transparent and non-discriminatory competitive selection process, in line
with the principles of public procurement rules and respecting the principle of
technology neutrality without prejudice to the to the applicable public procurement
rules, based on the most economically advantageous offer.”;
(f) paragraphs 8 and 9 are replaced by the following:
“8. The operation of the subsidised network shall offer active and passive wholesale access, in
accordance with Article 2, point (139), under fair and non-discriminatory conditions. Active
wholesale access shall be granted for at least ten years from the start of the operation of the
network and wholesale access to the physical infrastructure including ducts, masts, poles and
towers shall be granted for the lifespan of the elements concerned. The same access
EN EN
conditions shall apply on the entirety of the subsidised network, including on the parts of such
network where existing infrastructures have been used. The access obligations shall be
enforced irrespective of any change in ownership, management or operation of the subsidised
network. In the case of aid for the construction of passive infrastructure, such as ducts, masts,
poles and towers, these elements shall cater at least for all mobile networks operators active in
the Member State concerned.
9. The wholesale access price shall be based on one of the following benchmarks: (i) the
average published wholesale prices that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas
of the Member State; or (ii) the regulated prices already set or approved by the national
regulatory authority for the markets and services concerned; or (iii) cost orientation or the
methodology mandated in accordance with the sectorial regulatory framework. Without
prejudice to the competences of the national regulatory authority under the regulatory
framework, the national regulatory authority shall be consulted on the wholesale access
products, the terms and conditions for access, including on prices, and on disputes related to
the application of this Article.”;
(g) paragraph 11 is replaced by the following:
“11. The use of the publicly funded mobile 4G or 5G network to provide also fixed wireless
access services shall only be allowed in areas where there is no network providing speeds of
at least 100 Mbps download under peak-time conditions present or credibly planned to be
deployed within the relevant time horizon, if the following cumulative conditions are met:
(i) the mapping and public consultation exercise takes also into account the fixed
broadband networks present or credibly planned determined according to Article
52(4);
(ii) the supported 4G or 5G fixed wireless access network shall at least triple the
download speed compared to the present or credibly planned networks (target speed)
according to Article 52(5).”;
(h) the following paragraph 12 is inserted:
“12. To ensure that aid remains proportional and does not lead to overcompensation or cross-
subsidisation of non-aided activities, the aid beneficiary must ensure accounting separation
between the funds used for the deployment and the operation of the network and other funds
at its disposal.”;
(42) Article 52c is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
“2. The duration of a voucher scheme shall not exceed 36 months.”;
(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
“3. The following categories of vouchers shall be eligible:
(a) voucher schemes available to consumers for subscribing to a new broadband internet
access service or upgrading the current subscription to a service providing speeds of
at least 30 Mbps download under peak-time conditions, provided that all providers of
electronic communications providing speeds of at least 30 Mbps download under
peak-time conditions are eligible under the vouchers scheme, whereas vouchers shall
not be awarded for switching providers providing the same speeds or for upgrades of
an existing subscription of at least 30 Mbps download under peak-time conditions;
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(b) voucher schemes available to SMEs for subscribing to a new broadband internet
access service or upgrading the current subscription to a service providing speeds of
at least 100 Mbps download under peak-time conditions, provided that all providers
providing speeds of at least 100 Mbps download under peak-time conditions are
eligible under the vouchers scheme, whereas vouchers shall not be awarded for
switching providers providing the same speeds or upgrades of an existing
subscription of at least 100 Mbps download under peak-time conditions.”;
(43) The following Article 52d is inserted:
“Article 52d
Aid for backhaul networks
1. Aid for backhaul-only network deployment shall be compatible with the internal market
pursuant to Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this
Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The eligible costs shall be all costs for the construction, management and operation of a
backhaul network. The maximum aid amount for a project shall be established on the basis of
a competitive selection process as set out in paragraph 6, point (a). Where an investment is
carried out in accordance with paragraph 6, point (b), without a competitive selection process,
the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the normal
operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible
costs ex ante on the basis of reasonable projections and verified ex post through a claw-back
mechanism.
3. Backhaul-only investment shall be located in areas where there is no backhaul network
based on fibre or on other technologies able to provide the same level of performance and
reliability as fibre present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time horizon.
This shall be verified by mapping and public consultation in accordance with paragraph 4.
4. The mapping and public consultation referred to in paragraph 3 shall meet the following
requirements cumulatively:
(a) the mapping shall identify the target areas for backhaul intervention and shall take
into account all present backhaul networks. All the elements of the methodology and
the underlying technical criteria used to map the target areas must be made publicly
available. Mapping shall always be verified through a public consultation;
and
(b) the public consultation shall be carried out by the competent public authority through
publication of the main characteristics of the planned State intervention and the list
of areas identified in the mapping exercise in accordance with point (a) on the
website of the aid granting authority and, if the granting authority is not at central
level, on the website of a central national authority. The public consultation shall
invite interested parties to comment on the planned State intervention and to submit
substantiated information in accordance with point (a) regarding the backhaul
networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time
horizon. The public consultation shall last at least 30 days.
5. The supported project shall bring a significant improvement (step change) compared to
backhaul networks present or credibly planned to be deployed within the relevant time
horizon, in accordance with paragraph 4. Credibly planned networks must be taken into
account for the assessment of the step-change only if they would, on their own, provide
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similar performance to that of the planned State funded network in the target areas within the
relevant time horizon. A step change takes place if, as a result of the subsidised intervention, a
significant new investment in the backhaul network is undertaken and the subsidised backhaul
network is based on fibre or on other technologies able to provide the same level of
performance of fibre, as opposed to the existing or credibly planned networks within the
relevant time horizon. The project must include substantial investments in passive
infrastructure.
6. The aid shall be granted as follows:
(a) the aid shall be allocated on the basis of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory
competitive selection procedure in line with the principles of public procurement
rules and respecting the principle of technology neutrality, without prejudice to the
applicable public procurement rules, based on the most economically advantageous
offer. For the purposes of the competitive selection procedure, the aid granting
authority shall establish in advance objective, transparent and non-discriminatory
qualitative award criteria that have to be weighed against the requested aid amount;
(b) when the aid is granted without a competitive selection procedure to a public
authority to deploy and manage, directly or through an in-house entity, a backhaul
network, the public authority or the in-house entity, as the case may be, shall provide
only wholesale services using the subsidised network. Any concession or other
entrustment to a third party to build or operate the network shall be allocated through
an open, transparent and non-discriminatory competitive selection procedure, in line
with the principles of public procurement rules and respecting the principle of
technology neutrality, without prejudice to the to the applicable public procurement
rules, based on the most economically advantageous offer.
7. The operation of the subsidised network shall offer active and passive wholesale access, in
accordance with Article 2, point (139), under fair and non-discriminatory conditions. Active
wholesale access shall be granted for at least ten years from the start of the operation of the
network and the wholesale access to the physical infrastructure including ducts, masts, poles
and towers shall be granted for the lifespan of the elements concerned. The same access
conditions shall apply to the entirety of the subsidised network, including on parts of the
network where existing infrastructures have been used. The access obligations shall be
enforced irrespective of any change in ownership, management or operation of the subsidised
network. In the case of aid for the construction of passive infrastructure, such as ducts, masts,
poles and towers, these elements should cater for the foreseeable needs of all wholesale access
seekers.
8. The wholesale access price shall be based on one of the following benchmarks: (i) the
average published wholesale prices that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas
of the Member State; or (ii) the regulated prices already set or approved by the national
regulatory authority for the markets and services concerned; or (iii) cost orientation or the
methodology mandated in accordance with the sectorial regulatory framework. Without
prejudice to the competences of the national regulatory authority under the regulatory
framework, the national regulatory authority shall be consulted on wholesale access products,
the terms and conditions for access, including on prices, and on disputes related to the
application of this Article.
9. Member States shall put in place a monitoring and claw-back mechanism if the amount of
aid granted to a project exceeds EUR 10 million.
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10. To ensure that aid remains proportional and does not lead to overcompensation or cross-
subsidisation of non-aided activities, the aid beneficiary must ensure accounting separation
between the funds used for the deployment and the operation of the network and other funds
at its disposal.”;
(44) Article 56b is amended as follows:
(a) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:
“1a. Aid under this Article shall not be granted for the construction, installation, or upgrade of
refuelling infrastructure supplying vessels with fossil-based fuels, such as diesel, natural gas,
in gaseous form (compressed natural gas (CNG)) and liquefied form (liquefied natural gas
(LNG)), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).”;
(b) the following paragraph 2a is inserted:
“2a. For aid for recharging and refuelling infrastructure supplying electricity, hydrogen,
ammonia and methanol, the eligible costs shall be the costs of the construction, installation,
upgrade or extension of recharging or refuelling infrastructure. Those costs may include the
costs of the recharging or refuelling infrastructure itself and related technical equipment,
including fixed, mobile or floating facilities, the installation of, or upgrades to, electrical or
other components, including electrical cables and power transformers, required for connecting
the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to the grid or to a local electricity or hydrogen
production or storage unit, as well as civil engineering works, land or road adaptations,
installation costs and costs for obtaining related permits.
The eligible costs may also cover the investment costs of on-site production of renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen and the investment costs of storage units for storing
renewable electricity or hydrogen. The nominal production capacity of the on-site renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen production installation shall not exceed the maximum rated
output or refuelling capacity of the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to which it is
connected.”;
(c) the following paragraph 8a is inserted:
“8a. When aid is granted for the construction, installation or upgrade of a refuelling
infrastructure supplying hydrogen, the beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at
the latest the aided refuelling infrastructure will supply solely renewable hydrogen. When aid
is granted for the construction, installation or upgrade of a refuelling infrastructure supplying
ammonia or methanol, the the beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at the latest
the aided refuelling infrastructure will supply solely ammonia or methanol the energy content
of which is derived from renewable sources other than biomass.”;
(45) Article 56c is amended as follows:
(a) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:
“1a. Aid under this Article shall not be granted for the construction, installation, or upgrade of
refuelling infrastructure supplying vessels with fossil-based fuels, such as diesel, natural gas,
in gaseous form (compressed natural gas (CNG)) and liquefied form (liquefied natural gas
(LNG)), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).”;
(b) the following paragraph 2a is inserted:
“2a. For aid for recharging and refuelling infrastructure supplying electricity, hydrogen,
ammonia and methanol, the eligible costs shall be the costs of the construction, installation,
upgrade or extension of recharging or refuelling infrastructure. Those costs may include the
costs of the recharging or refuelling infrastructure itself and related technical equipment,
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including fixed, mobile or floating facilities, the installation of, or upgrades to, electrical or
other components, including electrical cables and power transformers, required for connecting
the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to the grid or to a local electricity or hydrogen
production or storage unit, as well as civil engineering works, land or road adaptations,
installation costs and costs for obtaining related permits.
The eligible costs may also cover the investment costs of on-site production of renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen and the investment costs of storage units for storing
renewable electricity or hydrogen. The nominal production capacity of the on-site renewable
electricity or renewable hydrogen production installation shall not exceed the maximum rated
output or refuelling capacity of the recharging or refuelling infrastructure to which it is
connected.”;
(c) the following paragraph 7a is inserted:
“7a. When aid is granted for the construction, installation or upgrade of a refuelling
infrastructure supplying hydrogen, the beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at
the latest the aided refuelling infrastructure will supply solely renewable hydrogen only.
When aid is granted for the construction, installation or upgrade of a refuelling infrastructure
supplying ammonia or methanol, the the beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at
the latest the aided refuelling infrastructure will supply solely ammonia or methanol the
energy content of which is derived from renewable sources other than biomass.”;
(46) in Article 56d, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“4. The maximum thresholds laid down in Articles 56e and 56f shall apply to the total
outstanding financing, in so far as that financing provided under any financial product
supported by the InvestEU Fund contains aid. The maximum thresholds shall apply:
(a) per project in the case of aid with identifiable eligible costs covered by Article
56e(2), (3) and (4), Article 56e(5), point (a)(i), Article 56e(6) and (7), Article 56e(8),
and Article (9);
(b) per final beneficiary in the case of aid without identifiable eligible costs covered by
Article 56e(5), points (a)(ii), (iii) and (iv), Article 56e(10) and Article 56f.”;
(47) Article 56e is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 4, point (b)(iv) is replaced by the following:
“(iv) in case of installations producing biofuels, aid shall only be granted for
installations producing biofuels compliant with the sustainability and
greenhouse gases emissions saving criteria referred to in article 29 of Directive
(EU) 2018/2001 and its implementing or delegated acts and are made from the
feedstock listed in Annex IX to that Directive.”;
(b) in paragraph 6, point (a)(v) is replaced by the following:
“(v) recharging or refuelling infrastructure that supplies vehicles with electricity or
hydrogen. For aided refuelling infrastructure supplying hydrogen, the
beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at the latest, the refuelling
infrastructure will solely supply renewable hydrogen. This Article does not
apply to aid for investments relating to recharging and refuelling infrastructure
in ports.”;
(c) in paragraph 6, point (b)(iv) is added:
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“(iv) When aid is granted for refuelling infrastructure supplying hydrogen, the
beneficiary shall give a commitment that by 2035 at the latest, the refuelling
infrastructure will solely supply renewable hydrogen. When aid is granted for
the construction, installation or upgrade of a refuelling infrastructure supplying
ammonia or methanol, the the beneficiary shall give a commitment that by
2035 at the latest the aided refuelling infrastructure will supply solely ammonia
or methanol the energy content of which is derived from renewable sources
other than biomass.”;
(d) in paragraph 7, point (a)(ii) is replaced by the following:
“(ii) investment for resource efficiency and circularity in line with Article 47(1) to
(6) and (10);”;
(e) in paragraph 8, point (a)(i) is replaced by the following:
“(i) investments enabling undertakings to remedy or prevent damage to physical
surroundings (including climate change) or natural resources by a beneficiary’s
own activities or by activities of another entity participating in the same
project, provided that (i) the investments do not concern equipment, machinery
or industrial production using fossil fuels, including those using natural gas,
without prejudice to the possibility to grant aid for the installation of add-on
components improving the level of environmental protection of existing
equipment, machinery and industrial production facilities, in which case the
investment costs shall not relate to CO2-emitting installations; and (ii) in case
of investments in equipment, machinery and industrial production using
hydrogen, the beneficiary commits to exclusively use renewable hydrogen
throughout the lifetime of the investment. Aid shall not be granted under this
letter for investments undertaken to comply with Union standards that have
been adopted, except if the investment is implemented and finalised at least 18
months before the standard enters into force.”;
(f) in paragraph 8, point (a)(ii) is replaced by the following:
“(ii) measures improving the energy efficiency of a building or an undertaking,
provided that the investments do not concern equipment, machinery or
industrial production using fossil fuels, including natural gas. Aid shall not be
granted under this letter for investments undertaken to comply with Union
standards that have been adopted, except if the investment is implemented and
finalised at least 18 months before the standard enters into force. By way of
derogation, aid may be granted under this letter for investments in buildings
undertaken to comply with minimum energy performance standards qualifying
as Union standards, provided that the aid is granted before the standards
become mandatory for the undertaking concerned.”;
(g) in paragraph 8, point (a)(vi) is inserted:
“(vi) investment aid for the acquisition of clean vehicles powered at least partially
by electricity or by hydrogen, or zero-emission vehicles for road, railway,
inland waterway and maritime transport and for the retrofitting of vehicles to
qualify as clean vehicles or as zero-emission vehicles;”;
(h) in paragraph 8, point (b) is replaced by the following:
“(b) Without prejudice to point (a), where the aid measure relates to the improvement of
the energy efficiency of (1) residential buildings, (2) buildings dedicated to the
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provision of education or social services or to justice, law-enforcement or fire-
fighting and civil protection services, (3) buildings dedicated to activities related to
public administration, or (4) buildings referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii) and in which
activities other than those mentioned in (1), (2) or (3) occupy no more than 50 % of
the internal floor area, the aid granted for the improvement of the energy efficiency
of the building may be combined with aid for any or all of the following measures:
(i) the installation of integrated on-site equipment generating electricity, heating
or cooling from renewable energy sources, including but not limited to
photovoltaic panels and heat pumps;
(ii) the installation of equipment for the storage of the energy generated by the on-
site renewable energy installations;
(iii) investments in the connection to an energy efficient district heating and cooling
system and related equipment;
(iv) the construction and installation of recharging infrastructure for use by the
building users, and related infrastructure, such as ducting, where car parking
facilities are located either inside the building or are physically adjacent to the
building;
(v) the installation of equipment for the digitalisation of the building, in particular
to increase its smart-readiness, including passive in-house wiring or structured
cabling for data networks and the ancillary part of the passive network on the
property to which the building belongs, but excluding wiring or cabling for
data networks outside the property;
(vi) investments in green roofs and equipment for the retention and use of rain
water.
The aid measure shall not support the installation of energy equipment using fossil
fuels, including equipment using natural gas.
The final beneficiary of the aid may be either building owner(s) or tenant(s),
depending on who obtains the financing for the project.”;
(i) in paragraph 8, point (e) is replaced by the following:
“(e) aid for measures that improve the energy efficiency of the buildings referred to in
point (b) may also relate to the facilitation of energy performance contracting subject
to the following cumulative conditions:
(i) the support is provided to SMEs or small mid-caps that are providers of energy
performance improvement measures, and which are the final beneficiaries of
the support;
(ii) the support is provided for the facilitation of energy performance contracting
within the meaning of Article 2, point (27), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
(iii) the support takes the form of a senior loan or guarantee to the provider of the
energy efficiency improvement measures under an energy performance
contract, or consists in a financial product aimed at financing the provider (for
example, factoring or forfaiting);
(iv) the nominal amount of total outstanding financing provided under this
paragraph per beneficiary does not exceed EUR 30 million.”;
(j) paragraph 10, point (a), is replaced by the following:
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“10. SMEs or, where applicable, small mid-caps may, in addition to the categories of aid
provided for in paragraphs 2 to 9, also receive aid in one of the following forms of financing
supported by the InvestEU Fund provided that the respective conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the nominal amount of total financing provided per final beneficiary under the
support of the InvestEU Fund does not exceed EUR 15 million and is provided to:
(i) unlisted SMEs that have not yet been operating in any market or have been
operating for less than 10 years following their registration or less than seven
years after their first commercial sale; for any given eligible undertaking only
one of those two eligibility periods can be applied when granting any
additional risk finance aid to the same undertaking. For undertakings that have
taken over the activities of another undertaking or were formed through a
merger, the used eligibility period shall also encompass the operations of that
undertaking or the merged undertakings, respectively, unless the turnover of
the acquired undertaking accounts for less than 10 % of the turnover of the
eligible undertaking or the turnover of the merged company is less than 10 %
higher than the turnover of the two merging undertakings before the merger.
Concerning the registration-related eligibility period, if used, for eligible
undertakings that are not subject to registration, the ten-year eligibility period
is considered to start from the earlier of either the moment when the
undertaking starts its economic activity or the moment when it becomes liable
to tax with regard to its economic activity;
(ii) unlisted SMEs starting a new economic activity, where the initial investment
shall be higher than 50 % of the average annual turnover in the preceding five
years. Investments aimed at significantly improving the environmental
performance of the activity beyond mandatory Union standards in accordance
with Article 36(2) of this Regulation, or at starting a new environmentally
sustainable activity, shall be considered a new economic activity if their initial
funding requirements are above 30 % of the average annual turnover in the
preceding five years. The environmentally sustainable character of the
investment shall be demonstrated in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation
(EU) 2020/852, including the “do no significant harm” principle, or through
other comparable methodologies, including, among others, the sustainability
proofing for the InvestEU Fund. For measures which are identical to measures
within Recovery and Resilience Plans as approved by the Council, their
compliance with the ‘Do no significant harm’ principle is considered fulfilled
as this has already been verified;
(iii) SMEs and small mid-caps that are innovative enterprises as defined in Article
2, point (80);”;
(48) in Article 58, paragraphs 3a and 4 are replaced by the following:
“3a. Any individual aid granted between 1 July 2014 and [date of entry into force of this
amendment] in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation as applicable at the time of
granting the aid shall be compatible with the internal market and exempted from the
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty. Any individual aid granted before 1
July 2014 in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation, with the exception of Article
9, as applicable either before or after 10 July 2017, before or after 3 August 2021, or before or
after [date of entry into force of this amendment] shall be compatible with the internal market
and exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty.
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4. At the end of the period of validity of this Regulation, any aid schemes exempted under this
Regulation shall remain exempted during an adjustment period of six months. The exemption
of risk finance aid exempted pursuant to Article 21(9), point (a) shall expire at the end of the
period set out in the funding agreement, provided the commitment of public funding to the
supported private equity investment fund was made on the basis of such agreement within 6
months from the end of the period of validity of this Regulation and all other conditions for
exemption remain fulfilled.”;
(49) in Article 59, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:
“It shall apply until 31 December 2024.”;
(50) in Annex II, Part II is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
(51) The following Annex IV is added:
“ANNEX IV
Critical raw materials referred to in Article 21(3)(c)
The following raw materials shal be considered as critical raw material as referred to in
Article 21, paragraph 3, point (c):
Antimony
Hafnium
Phosphorus
Baryte
Heavy Rare Earth Elements
Scandium
Beryllium
Light Rare Earth Elements
Silicon metal
Bismuth
Indium
Tantalum
Borate
Magnesium
Tungsten
Cobalt
Natural Graphite
Vanadium
Coking Coal
Natural Rubber
Bauxite
Fluorspar
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Niobium
Lithium
Gallium
Platinum Group Metals
Titanium
Germanium
Phosphate rock
Strontium”;
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
For the Commission
The President
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Meie 30.08.2022 nr 12.1-1/6832-1
Euroopa Komisjoni üldise
grupierandi määruse muutmise II
eelnõu
Austatud kolleegid
Edastame Teile arvamuse andmiseks Euroopa Komisjoni üldise grupierandi määruse (EL) nr
651/2014 muutmise teise eelnõu (eelnõu lisatud). Hetkel on eelnõu kättesaadav vaid inglise
keeles. Esimese eelnõu saatsime 19.10.2021 kirjaga nr 12.2-1/7302-1.
Komisjoni määruse muutmise põhieesmärk on viia üldine grupierandi määrus vastavusse juba
muudetud riigiabi suunistega (nt kliima-, keskkonnakaitse ja energiaalase riigiabi suunised)
ning soodustada avaliku sektori toetust ELi rohe- ja digipöördele.
Palume Teie arvamust üldise grupierandi määruse muutmise teise eelnõu kohta
21. septembriks.
Rahandusministeerium koondab asutuste arvamused ja saadab nende põhjal koostatud Eesti
koondarvamuse Euroopa Komisjonile.
Lugupidamisega
(allkirjastatud digitaalselt)
Merike Saks
kantsler
Lisad: Üldise grupierandi määruse II eelnõu
Maris Kalda 6113525
[email protected]
Lisaadressaadid:
Ettevõtluse ja Innovatsiooni Sihtasutus
SA Keskkonnainvesteeringute Keskus
Maaelu Edendamise Sihtasutus
Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / 611 3558 /
[email protected] / www.rahandusministeerium.ee
registrikood 70000272
Põllumajanduse Registrite ja Informatsiooni Amet
Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus
2