Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Evaluation Report on the application of the Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 regarding the application of Articles 87 (ex-Article 92) and 88 (ex-Article 93) of the EC Treaty to certain categories of horizontal State aid, pursuant to Article 5 of this Regulation
Date: 2006-12-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, State aid, aid system, application of EU law, member country, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.12.2006 
COM(2006) 831 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Evaluation report 
On the application of the Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 regarding 
the application of Articles 87 (ex-Article 92) and 88 (ex-Article 93) of the EC Treaty to 
certain categories of horizontal State aid, pursuant to Article 5 of this Regulation 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Group Exemption Regulations adopted ....................................................................... 4 

The first generation: GER for SME and de minimis (except for the agriculture and 
fisheries sector) and GER on training and employment .............................................. 4 

The second generation: GER on de minimis aid and aid to SME active in the 
production, processing and marketing of agricultural and fisheries products ............. 5 

2.3. 

Transparency and Monitoring ...................................................................................... 6 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

4. 

Experience gained with the application of the Enabling Regulation and the existing 
Group exemption Regulations...................................................................................... 6 

Use of Group exemption Regulations by Member States............................................ 6 

GER for SME (except for the agriculture and fisheries sector), training and 
employment.................................................................................................................. 8 

GER for SME in the agriculture sector ........................................................................ 9 

GER for SME in the fisheries sector............................................................................ 9 

Transparency and Monitoring .................................................................................... 10 

Conclusions on the Application of the Enabling Regulation and future development
.................................................................................................................................... 11 

ANNEX.................................................................................................................................... 12 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Council Regulation (EC) No 994/981 (hereafter referred to as the Enabling Regulation – ER), 
adopted  on  7  May  1998,  enables  the  Commission  to  declare  by  means  of  regulations  that 
certain  categories  of  aid  are  compatible  with  the  common  market  (group  exemption 
regulations (GER) – Article 1 ER) and that certain aids do not meet all the criteria of Article 
87 (1) EC Treaty (de minimis – Article 2). Such aid shall be exempted from the notification 
requirement of Article 88 (3) EC Treaty and can therefore be put into effect by the Member 
States without awaiting a Commission decision.  

The Commission proposed the Enabling Regulation to the Council as an attempt to introduce 
prioritisation and simplification in the state aid field with an intended threefold effect: 

•  In  areas  where  the  Commission  has  sufficient  experience  to  define  general  compatibility 
criteria, Member States would be able to implement aid that does not raise concerns as to 
its compatibility without further proceedings before the Commission. 

•  Due  to  the  direct  applicability  of  regulations  in  the  Member  States  (Article  249  EC), 
compliance  with  the  GER  could  be  ensured  through  private  enforcement  before  national 
courts. 

•  GER enable the Commission to concentrate its resources on the most distortive cases.  

With a view to ensuring efficient supervision and safeguarding the Commission’s obligation 
to  keep  all  systems  of  aid  under  constant  review  (Article  88  (1)  EC  Treaty),  the  Enabling 
Regulation includes provisions on transparency, reporting and monitoring of all aid measures 
put into effect under the GER.  

GER can be adopted for the following categories of aid (Article 1 ER): 

•  small and medium sized enterprises (SME), 

•  research and development, 

•  environmental protection, 

•  employment and training, and 

•  aid that complies with the regional aid map approved by the Commission for each Member 

State. 

In  the  regulations,  the  Commission  shall  specify  the  purpose  of  the  aid,  the  categories  of 
beneficiaries, the thresholds limiting the exempted aid, and the conditions for cumulation and 
monitoring of aid. 

De minimis regulations (Article 2 ER) shall ensure that aid granted to the same undertaking 
over a given period of time does not exceed a certain fixed amount. 

1 

Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty 
establishing the European Community to certain categories of horizontal State aid, OJ L 142/1-4 of 14.5.98. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The  Commission  submits  this  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
application  of  this  Regulation  pursuant  to  its  Article  5.  The  report  was  considered  by  the 
Advisory Committee on State Aid on 9.11.2006. 

For the preparation of this report, the Commission sought the experience of Member States on 
the  basis  of  a  questionnaire  to  all  EU  Member  States  and  EFTA  States  Parties  to  the  EEA 
Agreement,  and  a  subsequent  discussion  at  a  multilateral  meeting  between  the  Commission 
and Member State authorities on 27 June 2006. Feedback from Member States forms the basis 
of part three of this report. 

2. 

GROUP EXEMPTION REGULATIONS ADOPTED 

In  function  of  the  experience  gained  to  define  general  compatibility  criteria  and  the 
development  of  the  common  market,  the  Commission  has,  since  2001,  adopted  a  series  of 
GER  for  aid  to  SME,  employment  and  training  as  well  as  de  minimis  regulations  (for  the 
references  see  Annex  A).  All  regulations  are  currently  applicable  until  31  December  20062, 
except for the regulation on de minimis aid in the agricultural and fisheries sector, which is 
applicable until 31 December 2008. 

GER on aid to environmental protection and research and development (R&D) aid for large 
enterprises have not yet been adopted, since experience with notified aid was considered to be 
insufficient.3 

2.1. 

The first generation: GER for SME and de minimis (except for the agriculture 
and fisheries sector) and GER on training and employment  

A first package of three regulations was adopted in January 2001, consisting of Commission 
Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 on training aid, Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 on de 
minimis  aid  and  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  70/2001  on  State  aid  to  SME.  This  first 
generation  of  GER  was  complemented  in  December  2002  by  Commission  Regulation  (EC) 
No 2204/2002 on State aid for employment. The employment GER only applies to schemes, 
while all other GER also cover individual awards of aid outside schemes. 

In February 2004, Commission Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 extended the scope of the SME 
GER  to  aid  for  research  and  development  to  SME.  At  the  same  time,  this  regulation  and 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 363/2004 adjusted the GER on SME and training aid to the 
new SME definition (see below) and stipulate that the specific annual reporting obligations in 
the two GER are replaced by the general annual reporting system for state aid with the entry 
into  force  of 
the  reporting  provisions  of  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  794/2004 
(Implementing Regulation).4 

The  scope  of  the  regulations  as  amended  and  after  the  expiry  of  the  ECSC  Treaty  on 
23 July 2002 can be summarized as follows: While the GER on training and employment aid 
as  well  as  the  R&D  section  of  the  SME  GER  cover  all  sectors  including  agriculture  and 

2 
3 
4 

For prolongation please see part 4.  
For regional investment aid please see part 4. and footnote 16. 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  794/2004  of  21  April  2004  implementing  Council  Regulation  (EC) 
659/1999  laying  down  detailed  rules  for  the  application  of  Article  93  of  the  EC  Treaty,  OJ  L  140, 
30 April 2004, p. 1. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
fisheries, and only exclude aid to the coal industry (training, R&D for SME) and aid to coal, 
shipbuilding and transport (employment), the SME GER (save for R&D) does not cover aid to 
the  agriculture  and  fisheries  sector.  In  addition,  the  SME  GER  excludes  aid  to  the  coal 
industry,  while  the  de  minimis  regulation  excludes  the  agriculture,  fisheries  and  transport 
sectors.  Within  the  scope  of  the  GER,  aid  exceeding  a  certain  threshold  or  showing  certain 
particularities have to be notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 88 (3) EC Treaty.  

Commission Regulation (EC) No  70/2001 allows  aid to  SME  for initial  investment, outside 
consultancy and for a first participation in fairs and exhibitions. Enterprises are defined on the 
basis of the SME definition laid down in a Commission Recommendation.5 

While the Enabling Regulation mentions “aid to SME” as a separate aid category it should be 
noted  that  all  other  categories  of  exempted  aid  also  include  possibilities  through  bonuses  to 
support SMEs under particularly favourable conditions. 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 on training aid offers the possibility of granting aid 
for general and specific training. 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2204/2002  on  employment  aid  offers  the  possibility  of 
granting aid  for the creation  of  new jobs and the recruitment of disadvantaged and disabled 
workers and to compensate the additional costs of employing disabled workers.  

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  69/2001  on  de  minimis  aid  stipulates  that  aid  to  an 
enterprise that does not exceed the threshold of EUR 100 000 over any period of three years is 
not considered as State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) EC Treaty and is therefore not 
subject to the notification requirement.  

2.2. 

The  second  generation:  GER  on  de  minimis  aid  and  aid  to  SME  active  in  the 
production, processing and marketing of agricultural and fisheries products 

The second generation of GER allows for aid to SME in the agricultural and fisheries sectors 
and introduces a specific de minimis regulation in these sectors.  

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1/2004  for  State  aid  to  SMEs  active  in  the  agricultural 
sector  covers  several  types  of  aid  including  investment  aid  for  production,  conservation  of 
traditional landscapes and buildings, investment aid for processing and marketing and aid to 
encourage the production and marketing of quality agricultural products. 

Under  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1595/2004  for  State  aid  to  SMEs  active  in  the 
fisheries  sector,  a  number  of  types  of  aid  can  be  exempted  including:  promotion  and/or 
advertising of fisheries products, innovative measures and technical  assistance, scrapping of 
fishing vessels, as well as tax exemptions on fuel implemented pursuant to Council Directives 
on  energy  taxes  and  VAT,  insofar  as  these  tax  exemptions  constitute  State  aid.  The 
Regulation does not apply to aid granted to SMEs for aid amounts exceeding € 1 million per 
beneficiary and per year or to aid for individual projects with eligible expenses in excess of 
€ 2 million. 

5 

Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small 
and medium-sized enterprises, OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36, with effect from 1 January 2005, replacing 
Commission Recommendation 96/280/EC of 3 April 1996, OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4. 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Experience  showed  that  very  small  amounts  of  aid  granted  in  the  agriculture  and  fisheries 
sectors do not fulfil the criteria of Article 87 (1) EC Treaty, provided certain conditions are 
met. In October 2004, the Commission adopted Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 on de minimis 
aid  in  the  agriculture  and  fisheries  sectors.  The  Regulation  exempts  national  aid  of  up  to 
EUR 3 000  per  farmer  or  fisherman  over  three  years.  To  avoid  distortions  of  competition, 
Member States have also to respect an overall ceiling over three years that is roughly equal to 
0,3% of agricultural or fisheries output.  

2.3. 

Transparency and Monitoring  

The  Enabling  Regulation  and  the  specific  GER  contain  a  number  of  provisions  regarding 
transparency  and  monitoring.6  Transparency  is  ensured  primarily  by  the  publication  of  the 
summary information in the Official Journal and by annual reporting.  

Under the first generation of GER, Member States must send the summary information to the 
Commission  within  20  working  days  after  the  measure  is  implemented.  The  second 
generation  introduces  additional  transparency  provisions.  Summary  information  forms  must 
be sent within 10 working days before entry into force of the aid measure. The Commission 
publishes the forms within five working days in the authentic language on the internet. At the 
time of entering into force, the Member State is obliged to publish on the internet the full text 
of the aid measure.  

As  regards  reporting,  the  Enabling  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  provide  annual 
reports  on  the  application  of  the  group  exemptions  which  must  be  made  available  to  other 
Member  States.  The  Implementing  Regulation  introduced  new  provisions  for  a  revised 
Standardised Reporting Format7 for all existing State aid measures including those covered by 
the GER. 

Monitoring rules request Member States to keep records for ten years.8 These rules apply also 
to de minimis aid though the de minimis Regulation does not require measures to be published 
nor does it request annual reporting. 

3. 

EXPERIENCE GAINED WITH THE APPLICATION OF THE ENABLING REGULATION AND 
THE EXISTING GROUP EXEMPTION REGULATIONS 

3.1. 

Use of Group exemption Regulations by Member States 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  application  of  the  ER  and  the  implementation  of  the 
different  GER  have  been  relatively  successful.  Experience  has  shown  that  Member  States 
have benefited considerably in speeding up the process of implementing aid measures in the 
areas  covered  by  the  GER.  For  the  EU-10  Member  States,  the  Regulation  represents  an 
important tool for adapting their state aid policy. However, some Member States reported that 
the introduction of GER has shifted onto them administrative burdens and responsibilities that 
are excessive and difficult to discharge in practice. From the Commission’s point of view, the 

6 
7 

8 

Article 3 of the Enabling Regulation. 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  794/2004  of  21 April  2004  (OJ  L  140, 30.4.2004);  see  Chapter  III  and 
Annex IIIA, IIIB (Agriculture) and IIIC (Fisheries). 
Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 (OJ L 83 of 27.3.1999, p. 6), Art. 15 (1). The 
powers of the Commission to recover aid shall be subject to a limitation period of ten years. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
introduction of the GER has led to a reduction in the number of notified cases which should in 
principle have enabled the Commission to concentrate more resources on the most distortive 
cases. However, this has been largely offset by an increase in the overall number of state aid 
cases resulting from the recent enlargement. 

The  use  made  of  the  GER  varies  considerably  from  one  objective  to  another  and  from  one 
Member State to another. The take-up rate for aid to SMEs has been relatively high whereas 
the  number  of  schemes  put  into  effect  under  the  employment  GER  has  been  relatively  low. 
Whether  GER  are  used  frequently  reflects  an  explicit  policy  choice  with  for  example  the 
Department  of  Trade  and  Industry  in  the  United  Kingdom  advising  granting  authorities  to 
maximise  use  of  the  GER.  In  contrast,  the  number  of  measures  submitted  by  some  other 
Member States is relatively low.  

Between  2001  and  2005,  Member  States  informed  the  Commission  of  almost  1300  aid 
measures  put  into  effect  under  the  GER.  More  than  half  concerned  aid  to  SME  in  the 
manufacturing and services sectors while one quarter were related to training aid. Relatively 
few measures on aid to employment and aid to SMEs in the fisheries sector were submitted 
(Annex C Table 1). 

In  2001  around  150  measures  were  put  into  effect  on  the  basis  of  two  GER.  From  2001  to 
2005,  the  number  of  measures  increased  significantly.  In  2005  alone,  Member  States 
introduced  more  than  400  measures:  198  on  exempted  aid  for  SMEs9  primarily  in  the 
manufacturing  and  services  sectors,  a  further  88  for  aid  to  SMEs  in  the  agricultural  sector, 
69 on training aid, 26 on aid to employment, and 22 for SMEs in fisheries. 

Over  the  period  2001  to  2005,  four  Member  States,  Italy  (28%  of  the  total  number  of 
measures), United Kingdom (23%), Germany (14%) and Spain (11%) accounted for 75% of 
all the measures. The number of measures submitted by some Member States was relatively 
low: around 10 or less in total in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden 
and  France10.  The  EU-10  Member  States  accounted  for  more  than  20%  of  the  measures 
submitted in 2005 (Annex C Table 2). 

160 aid measures to SMEs in agriculture have been introduced which is in line with previous 
estimates stating that around 30% of all agriculture measures would fall under GER. To date, 
GER in the agricultural sector have been most used by Italy (39 measures in 2004 and 2005), 
United Kingdom (23), France (22) and Spain (21). Member States have also started to use the 
GER for SMEs active in the fisheries sector in 2005, particularly Italy (13). 

As regards expenditure, an estimated € 2,9 billion was awarded in 2005 under the three GER 
for aid to SMEs, training aid and employment aid.11 Aid to SMEs accounted for € 1,5 billion, 
€ 1,0 billion were granted for training aid and € 0,4 billion for employment aid. EU-wide, aid 
put  into  effect  under  the  GER  represented  around  8%  of  all  aid  directed  at  horizontal 
objectives  in  2005,  though  for  several  Member  States  the  share  was  considerably  higher: 
Greece 25%, Estonia 29%, Portugal 33% and Poland 63% (Annex C, Table 3). 

9 
10 
11 

Around 20% of these measures concerned aid for research and development. 
For France the figure excludes the agriculture sector. 
Data are not yet available for agriculture and fisheries. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
                                                 
3.2. 

GER  for  SME  (except  for  the  agriculture  and  fisheries  sector),  training  and 
employment 

The Commission notes that in spite of the reduction in the number of notifications, Member 
States continue to notify certain aid measures in cases where:  

– 

– 

– 

the measure falls outside the scope of the GER 

the threshold set out in the GER triggers the notification requirement, for example, 
the training GER has a €1 million threshold for a single project 

where there is a (perceived) lack of legal certainty. 

An  analysis  of  the  measures  that  continue  to be  notified shows that a significant number of 
measures  may  benefit  from  the  GER.  In  this context,  the  Commission  has,  for  a  number  of 
cases, advised Member States to use the GER.  

Nevertheless,  in  applying  the  GER,  Member  States  have  encountered  certain  difficulties. 
Many point to a lack of clarity in certain provisions and definitions that leave them open to 
interpretation.  

Relatively  few  problems  have  been  noted  regarding  the  application  of  the  training  GER. 
However,  a  significant  number  of  aid  measures  have  been  notified  as  they  exceeded  the 
threshold  of  €1  million  laid  down  in  the  GER  and  thus  triggered  the  individual  notification 
obligation.  These  measures  were  assessed  in  general  under  the  GER  rules  and  have  largely 
been approved. However an analysis of these cases and questions have shown that Member 
States  have  difficulties  in  correctly  applying  certain  provisions  such  as  eligible  costs  as 
defined in Article 4(7), in particular personnel costs of trainees, training infrastructure, costs 
of training/personnel units, and the dividing line between general and specific training under 
Article 2 (d) and (e). 

The number of employment aid measures either notified or put into effect under the relevant 
GER  is  relatively  small.  Member  States  have  notified  cases  because  of  the  need  for  legal 
certainty or because the cases have triggered the notification obligation laid down in Article 9 
of the employment GER, in particular for additional groups of disadvantaged persons and the 
conversion  of  contracts.  Numerous  questions  on  rules  and  definitions  from  Member  States 
have  shown  that  problems  exist  in  applying  the  provisions  of  the  employment  GER,  e.g., 
sheltered  employment,  costs  of  hiring  disabled  people,  jobs  to  be  maintained  for 
disadvantaged  and  disabled  persons  for  a  certain  period  and  additional  costs  related  to 
working conditions of disabled people. In addition, a number of Member States perceive the 
provisions as too complex which may explain, in part, the relatively low number of measures 
put  into  effect  under  the  employment  GER.  If  this  trend  is  confirmed  by  future  cases  the 
Commission may have reason to reconsider the scope of the employment GER. 

In a case12 against the Commission, Belgium sought the annulment of the employment GER. 
The ECJ in its judgment rejected the appeal by Belgium, upheld the Commission Regulation 
and made the following statements concerning the respective powers of the Commission and 
the Council in the field of state aid. The ECJ stated that the Commission did not exceed its 
powers  by  defining  compatibility  criteria  for  state  aid.  The  Commission  did  not  have  to 

12 

Case C-110/03 Belgium v Commission. Judgment of 14 April 2005. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
confine  itself  to  simple  codification  of  its  previous  practice,  but  was  allowed  to  use  its 
experience  to  lay  down  new  compatibility  criteria,  including  even  stricter  criteria  than  the 
existing  ones.  The  Council,  by  means  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  994/98,  conferred  on 
the Commission the power to declare that certain categories of aid were compatible with the 
common market and were not subject to the obligation of notification. 

The  SME  GER  has  been  widely  used  in  most  Member  States.  Several  countries  reported 
difficulties in applying the current SME definition which they find complicated. Certain aid 
measures for SMEs continue to be notified due to a (perceived) risk that large enterprises may 
benefit from the aid measure. In addition, the Commission noted that it is difficult to apply the 
GER  to  certain  sectors  due  to  the  complexity  of  the  aid  schemes,  e.g.,  aid  measures  for 
broadband. 

The  Commission  has  provided  Member  States  with  support  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
specific GER provisions and definitions. This support together with the considerable efforts of 
Member States, has led to improvements in the quality of the summary information submitted 
and to a relatively smooth running of the administrative process.  

3.3. 

GER for SME in the agriculture sector  

The Commission notes that the Member States have used Regulation 1/2004 very differently. 
This may be a reflection of differences in the time needed among national administrations to 
adapt  to  the  new  Regulation,  notably  in  Member  States  where  a  substantial  number  of  aid 
measures are managed at sub-national level. An analysis of the measures that continue to be 
notified  shows  that  a  considerable  number  could  easily  benefit  from  the  exemption 
Regulation. One of the reasons may be the risk of non-SMEs benefiting from the aid measure 
although  in  most  Member  States  it  would  appear  unlikely  that  farms  do  not  fulfil  the  SME 
definition. 

As far as the EU-10 Member States are concerned, the specific arrangements for existing aid 
in the agriculture sector13 may be the main reason as to why a relatively small number of new 
aid  measures  have  been  introduced  and  why  the  exemption  Regulation  is  rarely  used.  This 
may change when the “sunset clause” takes effect for existing aid measures after 1 May 2007.  

Relatively few difficulties in relation to the application of Regulation 1/2004 have been noted. 
The  main  problems  relate  to  the  interpretation  of  rules  in  Articles  4(8)  and  7(7)  that  only 
investment  aid  that  is  not  limited  to  specific  agricultural  products  is  covered  by  the 
Regulation.  Questions  have  also  arisen  in  relation  to  the  rule  in  Article  4(8)  that  aid  for 
“simple replacement investments” is not exempted. Overall, around 10% of the measures for 
which summary information forms have been submitted under Regulation 1/2004 raised some 
concern that not all conditions of the Regulation were fulfilled.  

3.4. 

GER for SME in the fisheries sector 

Following  an  initial  period  of  limited  interest  in  the  new  fisheries  GER  for  SME  the 
Commission has noted an increase in the awareness and use of this Regulation by a number of 
Member States. Ex- ante monitoring of the measures by the Commission helps Member States 
to  implement  the  provisions  of  the  Regulation  properly  and  amend  where  necessary. 

13 

Treaty of Accession, Annex IV point 4. “Agriculture”, page 798 of the version published in the Official 
Journal, L 236 of 23.9.2003. 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Publication  of  the  exempted  measures  on  the  internet  has  contributed  to  improving 
transparency and effective State aid control in the fisheries sector. 

3.5. 

Transparency and Monitoring 

Publishing of GER measures 

Due to the need for translation into 19 languages, GER measures are published in the Official 
Journal  after  approximately  six  months.  Additional  delays  occurred  in  the  period  after 
accession. Moreover, the question has arisen as to whether publication in the Official Journal 
is the best means of ensuring transparency. Timely publication of measures in the authentic 
language  on  the  internet  may  be  more  appropriate.  With  a  view  to  immediately  increasing 
transparency, the Commission publishes on the internet, the authentic language of summary 
information forms submitted after 1.1.2006, even if no legal obligation exists. 

The  additional  provisions  introduced  by  the  second  generation  of  GER  have  significantly 
increased transparency (see 2.3). 

Annual Reporting 

The  new  reporting  requirements  set  out  in  the  Implementing  Regulation  have  standardised 
and simplified the information requested for all aid measures and thus reduced the burden on 
Member  States.  As  required  by  the  Enabling  Regulation,  the  Commission  has  also  made 
available  to  Member  States  via  CIRCA14  information  on  the  number  of  and  expenditure  on 
group exempted measures.  

Monitoring 

For the GER under its responsibility, DG Competition carries out a light ex-ante checking on 
the  completeness  of  the  summary  information.  DG  Agriculture  examines  the  summary 
information  forms  before  implementation  thus  allowing  the  identification  of  possible 
problems at an early stage. 

As regards the de minimis Regulation, the main difference with other GER consists in the fact 
that it formally requires the granting authority, firstly, to inform the (potential) beneficiary of 
the  fact  that  it  receives  de  minimis  aid  and,  secondly,  imposes  formally  on  the  granting 
authority to examine whether the beneficiary has not already received other de minimis aid, so 
as to verify that the new grant would not raise the total of cumulated de minimis aid beyond 
the ceiling. When adopting Regulation 69/2001, it was agreed that the first condition could be 
waived  if  a  “central  register”  was  set  up  on  de  minimis  aid  granted  by  all  Member  State 
authorities. To the Commissions knowledge only a few Member States have established such 
a register (Slovakia, Lithuania). 

The  Enabling  Regulation  also  extended  the  role  of  national  courts.  Complainants  can  go  to 
national  courts  if  their  competitors  have  received  aid  which  does  not  comply  with  the 
conditions laid down in the relevant GER. If national courts find that the criteria are not met, 
the  aid  has  to  be  considered  as  non  notified  aid  with  all  the  consequences  that  may  entail, 

14 

CIRCA  (Communication  &  Information  Resource  Centre  Administrator)  allows  for  the  exchange  of 
confidential and non-confidential information between the Commission and the Member States.  

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
including recovery from beneficiaries. The Commission is unaware of any case that has been 
brought before a national court. 

4. 

CONCLUSIONS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE ENABLING REGULATION AND FUTURE 
DEVELOPMENT 

Experience has shown that the objectives of the Enabling Regulation have been largely met 
with Member States able to introduce 1300 aid measures for a range of objectives by means 
of  a  simplified  procedure.  This  has  been  accompanied  by  a  significant  reduction  in  the 
number of notified aid measures which however only enabled the Commission to cope with 
the  increased  workload  triggered  by  the  recent  enlargement.  Nevertheless,  some  Member 
States  continue  to  notify  aid  measures  that  could  be  implemented  under  a  GER,  largely  for 
reasons of legal certainty. In preparing a revision of the GER, the Commission will endeavour 
to improve and clarify the various provisions and definitions and reconsider the scope of the 
regulations  so  as  to  limit  further  the  notification  requirements  whilst  ensuring  that  GER 
continue  to  cover  only  groups  of  cases  where  the  Commission  can  exclude  competition 
concerns with a sufficient degree of certainty.  

In line with the State Aid Action Plan15, the Commission intends to regroup all existing GER 
under  its  responsibility  into  one  general  GER  and  to  widen  its  coverage  to  include  certain 
types of environmental aid. This will also include the GER on regional aid which was adopted 
on 24 October 2006.16 As legislative proceedings will not be finalised by the end of 2006, the 
Commission  prolonged  in  December  2006  the  validity  of  the  said  Regulations  until 
30.06.2008. A new GER for aid to SMEs active in the production of agricultural products was 
adopted  on  06.12.2006.  This  new  GER  extends  the  scope  of  the  SME  GER  (Commission 
Regulation 70/2001 of 12.1.2001 as amended by Regulation 364/2004 of 25.02.2004) to aid to 
SMEs active in the processing and marketing of agricultural products. A new regulation was 
adopted on 12.12.2006 for de minimis aid.17 (Annex A). 

Also in line with the State Aid Action Plan, the Commission intends to step up its monitoring 
efforts in order to ensure compliance of Member States with the GER. To this end, the rules 
on transparency, reporting and monitoring in the regulations should be carefully reconsidered.  

15 
16 

17 

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state_aid/reform/reform.html.  
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1628/2006 of 24 October 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 
88 of the Treaty to national regional investment aid, (OJ L 302 of 1 November 2006, p. 29). 
Including aid to the transport sector. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
A 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

ANNEX  

List of all (group exemption and de minimis) Regulations on the basis of the 
Enabling Regulation  

Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application 
of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid (OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, p. 20-
29); (Press release IP/00/1415) and No 363/2004 of 25 February 2004 amending 
Regulation  (EC)  No  68/2001  (OJ  L  63,  28.02.2004,  p.  20-21);  (Press  release 
IP/03/1788) 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application 
of  Articles  87  and  88  of  the  EC  Treaty  to  de  minimis  aid  (OJ  L  10,  13.1.2001, 
p. 30-32); (Press release IP/00/1415) 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application 
of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to SMEs (OJ L 10, 13.1.2001, 
p.  33-42);  (Press  release  IP/00/1415)  and  No  364/2004  of  25 February  2004 
amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  70/2001  as  regards  the  extension  of  its  scope  to 
include  aid  for  research  and  development  (OJ  L  63,  28.2.2004,  p.  22-29); 
(Press release IP/03/1788) 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2204/2002  of  5  December  2002  on  the 
application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment 
(OJ L 337, 13.12.2002, p. 3-14); (Press release IP/02/1618) 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 of 23 December 2003 on the application 
of  Articles  87  and  88  of  the  EC  Treaty  to  State  aid  to  SMEs  active  in  the 
production,  processing  and  marketing  of  agricultural  products  (OJ  L  1, 
3.1.2004, p. 1-16); (Press release IP/03/1691) 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1595/2004  of  8  September  2004  on  the 
application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to SMEs active in 
the  production,  processing  and  marketing  of  fisheries  products  (OJ  L  291  of 
14.9.2004, p. 3-11); (Press release IP/04/827) 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 of 6 October 2004 on the application 
of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the agriculture and 
fisheries sector (OJ L 325, 28.10.2004, p. 4-9); (Press release IP/04/1188) 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1628/2006  of  24  October  2006  on  the 
application  of  Articles  87  and  88  of  the  EC  Treaty  to  national  regional 
investment aid (OJ L 302 of 1.11.2006, p. 29-40); (IP/06/1453 of 24/10/2006) 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1857/2006  of  15  December  2006  on  the 
application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to State aid to small and medium-
sized  enterprises  active  in  the  production  of  agricultural  products  and 
amending  Regulation  (EC)  70/2001  (OJ  L  358  of  16.12.2006,  p.3-21); 
(IP/06/1697 of 6.12.2006)  

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
– 

– 

B 

– 

to  de  minimis  aid,  adopted  by 

Commission  Regulation  (EC  )  on  the  application  of  Articles  87  and  88  of  the 
the  Commission  on  12.12.2006 
Treaty 
(IP/06/1765),  state  aid  reform/Legislation  section  on  Commission  Web  page: 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state_aid/reform/reform.html 

Commission Regulation (EC) amending Regulations (EC) No 2204/2002, (EC) No 
70/2001  and  (EC)  No  68/2001  as  regards  the  extension  of  the  periods  of 
application (publication forthcoming) 

List of draft (group exemption and de minimis) Regulations on the basis of 
the Enabling Regulation  

Draft Commission Regulation (EC) on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the 
Treaty  to  de  minimis  aid  in  the  fisheries  sector  and  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1860/2004, (Press release IP/06/825), OJ C 276 of 14.11.2006, p. 7., available 
at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/c_276/c_27620061114en00070013.pdf 

C 

Statistical annexes 

Table 1: Trend in the number of measures for which summary information forms 
were submitted under the State aid GER, 2001-2005, EU-25 

Type of State aid 
group exemption 
regulation
SME
Training
Employment
Agriculture
Fish
Total

2001

2002

2003

2004 

2005

Total

Year

101
48
-
-
-
149

123
80
-
-
-
203

139
55
8
-
-
202

149
79
21
72
1
322

198
69
26
88
22
403

710
331
55
160
23
1279

Note: The table excludes cases withdrawn. Figures for the EU-10 Member States are included as of 1 May 
2004. Source: DG Competition, DG Fisheries, DG Agriculture 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
 
Table 2: Number of measures by Member State for which summary information 
forms were submitted under the State aid GER, 2001-2005 

Member State

SME 

Training

Employment  Agriculture

Fish

Type of  block exemption regulation

EU-25 
BE
 CZ
 DK
 DE
 EE
EL
 ES
 FR
 IE
 IT
 CY
 LV
 LT
 LU
 HU
 MT
 NL
 AT
 PL
 PT
 SI
 SK
 FI
SE
UK

710
5
11
4
96
5
16
81
6
6
211
3
4
3
1
7
5
25
18
29
1
0
2
2
0
169

331
23
1
1
62
5
2
26
3
6
89
0
0
2
0
1
2
2
7
5
2
0
1
0
1
90

55
2
1
0
9
1
3
5
2
0
6
0
0
1
0
4
2
2
0
10
0
0
1
0
1
5

160
3
2
0
16
0
1
21
22
0
39
0
6
0
0
1
0
13
8
1
0
1
0
3
0
23

23
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
0
0
13
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
2

Total

1279
33
15
5
183
12
23
135
33
12
358
3
10
7
1
13
9
42
33
45
3
2
4
7
2
289

Note: The table excludes cases withdrawn. Figures for the EU-10 Member States are included as of 1 May 
2004. Source: DG Competition, DG Fisheries, DG Agriculture 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
Table 3: Aid awarded under measures for which summary information forms were 
submitted under the State aid GER, 2005 (in million Euro) 

Member States

SME

Training

Employment

Total

EU-25
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Greece
Spain
France
Ireland
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom

1544
73
44
1
306
4
12
65
43
33
427
0
3
0
7
22
0
4
77
75
0
0
1
-
346

982
37
0
0
49
0
0
34
-
1
488
-
-
0
-
0
0
1
37
22
81
0
-
-
232

420
9
-
-
21
0
49
0
2
-
5
-
-
2
-
4
0
0
-
305
-
1
-
5
17

2946
120
44
1
375
4
61
100
45
34
920
0
3
2
7
26
0
5
114
401
81
1
1
5
596

Total GER as 
percentage 
of total 
Horizontal 
aid

7,8
17,1
11,3
0,1
3,1
29,1
24,6
4,6
0,8
10,9
18,0
0,5
11,3
7,9
16,1
5,7
0,6
0,4
20,0
62,8
33,0
0,7
0,2
0,2
18,8  

Source: DG Competition - Scoreboard Autumn 2006 (Table 13). Figures exclude expenditure 
for measures submitted under the group exemptions for agriculture and fisheries. Figures for 
the EU-10 Member States are included from 1 May 2004.  

Useful links and addresses: 

D 

State aid Scoreboard 

Web-address: 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state_aid/studies_reports/studies_reports.html 

E  Web-page  addresses  of  the  publication  of  the  GER  measures  in  authentic 
language 

– 

DG COMP:  

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state_aid/register/ 

– 

DG AGRI:  

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/stateaid/exemption/info_en.htm 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
– 
http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/legislation/state_aid/block_exemption_en.htm 

DG FISH: 

F 

List of Commission Units responsible for GER/Contact addresses  

DG COMP:  

– 

Unit I1 - State aid Policy,  

Head of Unit Alain ALEXIS, tel: +32 2 29 55303 

– 

Unit I3 - State aid network and transparency,  

Head of Unit Wolfgang MEDERER, tel: +32 2 29 53584  

DG AGRI: 

– 

Unit H2 Competition 

Head of Unit Susana MARAZUELA AZPIROZ tel: +32 2 29 65725  

DG FISH: 

– 

Unit D3 – Legal issues,  

Michel MORIN, tel: +32 2 29 67022  

DG TREN: 

– 

Unit A4 – Internal market and Competition,  

Anna COLUCCI, tel: +32 2 29 68319 

Questions and information on the Evaluation Report:  

Wolfgang Mederer 
European Commission 
DG Competition  
Unit I3 - State aid network and transparency 
Rue de la Loi, 200 
1000 Brussels 
Belgium 

E-mail to DG Competition: stateaidgreffe@ec.europe.eu 

EN 

16 

   EN