New SGEI de minimis Regulation sets clear threshold for exemptions from state aid rules

The European Commission has adopted the last pillar of a new package of state aid rules for SGEI. The most recent Regulation exempts certain compensation for the provision of services of general economic interest (SGEI) from state aid rules. If the SGEI compensation was granted at € 500,000 per company, over a three-year period, then it does not constitute state aid. The Regulation will be in effect until December 31, 2018.

The European Commission determined that such compensation is “unproblematic because it is too low to have any impact on trade and competition.” Vice President of the Commission for competition policy, Joaquín Almunia, noted that the Regulation will help facilitate the provision of public services, as well as allow the Commission to prioritize and focus on those state aid cases that significantly affect competition.

Moreover, the SGEI de minimis Commission Regulation increases legal certainty with its clear € 500,000 threshold. Administrative burdens are also allayed with the elimination of previous conditions that needed to be calculated, such as the provider’s turnover and the size of the local authority granting the aid.

Full content: EC Press Release

Related content: Identifying, Challenging, and Assigning Political Responsibility for State Regulation Restricting Competition (Maureen Ohlhausen, Federal Trade Commission)

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