What is an undertaking in State aid?
“Undertakings”, for the purposes of State aid, are entities engaged in economic activity. This means that they operate in a market providing goods or services in competition with other market operators. The same entity may well be an undertaking for some of its activities and not for others.
What are the tests for identifying what is a State aid within the meaning of Article 107 1 TFEU?
5. Article 107(1) of the Treaty defines State aid as ‘any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods […], in so far as it affects trade between Member States’ (4).
How do we define an undertaking in article 107 1 tfeu?
the Court of Justice has consistently defined ‘undertakings’ as entities engaged in an economic activity, regardless of their legal form and the way in which they are financed. ‘Economic activity’ is any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a market.
What are the consequences of a negative decision in State aid?
A negative decision has the consequence that the state aid measure is deemed illegal. This means that new aids are not allowed to be granted or unlawful aids need to be recovered.
Why is state aid important?
Early consideration of State Aid is essential It is crucial that public bodies fully consider the State Aid implications of a proposal at the earliest stage possible. This allows the measure to be designed or tweaked to fit within the State Aid Rules, and thus avoid potential serious problems later.
What is state aid de minimis?
Any public money given in the form of grant or other subsidy to a business that exports or is intending to export is counted by the European Commission as a State Aid. The de minimis regulation recognises that some State Aids are too insignificant in size to be a concern.
What is notifiable state aid?
Notifiable state aid is that which is governed by the European Commission (EC) to ensure fair competition prevails. It means that the government or grant-awarding body has had explicit permission to issue funding for a certain grant programme.
What is state aid intensity?
“aid intensity” means the aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs; • “assisted areas” means regions eligible for regional aid, as determined in the approved regional aid map for the Member State concerned for the period 2007-2013.
What is de minimis state aid?
De minimis aid indeed refers to small amounts of state aid to undertakings (essentially companies) that EU countries do not have to notify the European Commission about. The maximum amount is EUR 200 000 for each undertaking over a 3-year period.
Is state aid prohibited?
A company that receives government support gains an advantage over its competitors. Therefore the Treaty generally prohibits State aid unless it is justified by reasons of general economic development.
What is a state aid letter?
State aid is any advantage granted by public authorities through state resources on a selective basis to any organisations that could potentially distort competition and trade in the European Union (EU). It is anything which an undertaking (an organisation engaged in economic activity) could not get on the open market.
