WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1251/97 by Karin RIIS-JØRGENSEN to the Commission. Fifth survey of state aid in the EU
Date: 1997-04-02
Institutions: European Parliament, RIIS-JOERGENSEN
Subjects: State aid, aid to industry, control of State aid, energy saving, environmental protection, job preservation, research and development, small and medium-sized enterprises













EUR-Lex - 91997E1251 - EN






Avis juridique important




|



91997E1251

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1251/97 by Karin RIIS-JØRGENSEN to the Commission. Fifth survey of state aid in the EU  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0094 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-1251/97 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission (2 April 1997)Subject: Fifth survey of state aid in the EUIt is a matter of record that national state aid to industry in the EU Member States is on the increase and that, as a result, the Commission department responsible has had many more cases referred to it in recent years than previously. It also needs to be said that a properly functioning internal market requires more stringent control of state aid with a view to reducing the level of such aid.How does the Commission imagine that the proposal to exempt from notification a series of forms of state aid (aid for SMUs, research and development, employment and environmental protection) will lead to less state aid?Can clear and reliable criteria be drawn up to define, for example, environmental and employment aid so that the new system is not abused in order to provide covert operating aid?Under the proposed system, would it not very easily be possible for most of the cases that cause inconvenience for SMUs to end up no longer needing to be notified and therefore falling outside the scope of the Commission?Would not a better solution be to allocate more resources to the department responsible?Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (16 May 1997)The Commission's fifth survey on state aid shows a tendency towards a stability in the global volume of aid to industry and a decrease in horizontal aid to research and development (R& D), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), environment protection and energy savings.The Commission's experience also shows that such aid is usually granted by Member States in full accordance with the criteria published by the Commission in its guidelines regarding horizontal aid. As this aid is granted in accordance with Commission guidelines the Commission is now examining whether it could render its state aid control more efficient by simplifying its surveillance procedures in these areas. This would allow it to free resources for the assessment of large and distorting cases, which again could contribute to a reduction in the overall aid level.Simplification of the surveillance procedures for such horizontal aid - while maintaining the level of control achieved - could be attained by means of group exemption regulations under Article 94 of the EC Treaty. Clear and reliable criteria can be defined in group exemptions to avoid any abuse of aid for any alien purposes. Group exemptions could be envisaged for SMEs, R& D, environmental protection, employment and training.The Commission does not intend to render its state aid control more lax. On the contrary, group exemptions could serve to make state aid control stricter and more efficient, irrespective of any decision to allocate more resources to the department responsible.