Information communicated by the EFTA States regarding State aid granted under the Act referred to in point 1j of Annex XV to the EEA Agreement (Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General Block Exemption Regulation))
Date: 2011-04-21
Institutions: EFTA Surveillance Authority
Subjects: Norway, State aid, control of State aid, financial aid








C_2011123EN.01000701.xml










21.4.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 123/7





Information communicated by the EFTA States regarding State aid granted under the Act referred to in point 1j of Annex XV to the EEA Agreement (Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General Block Exemption Regulation))
2011/C 123/06
PART I








Aid No


GBER 2/11/R&D




EFTA State


Norway




Granting authority


Name


Innovation Norway




Address







PO Box 448 Sentrum




0104 Oslo




NORWAY








Web page


http://www.innovationnorway.com




Title of the aid measure


Landsdekkende innovasjonsordning — NHD 2421.50 (National Innovation Scheme)
The scheme receives only parts of the funding from NHD 2421.50




National legal basis (Reference to the relevant national official publication)


Prop. 1 S (2010-2011), pages 134-136, see
http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/nhd/dok/regpubl/prop/2010-2011/prop-1-s-20102011.html?id=618824




Web link to the full text of the aid measure


http://www.innovasjonnorge.no/Tjenester/Finansiering/




Type of measure


Scheme


Yes (grants to beneficiaries)




Amendment of an existing aid measure


 


EFTA Surveillance Authority Decisions Nos 170/94/COL, 129/00/COL and 130/00/COL, will expire. The temporary small aid scheme (Decision No 235/09/COL) will also expire




Duration


Scheme


From 1.1.2011
Allocations are subject to the annual parliamentary budgetary procedure. The scheme has been in operation for more than 20 years and no termination is planned in the foreseeable future




Economic sector(s) concerned


All economic sectors eligible to receive aid


All sectors




Type of beneficiary


SME


Yes




Large enterprises


Yes




Budget


Annual overall amount of the budget planned under the scheme


NOK 213 (in millions)




For guarantees


NOK 40 million from all Innovation Norway’s schemes managed on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. This is the sum of all guarantees possible to cover from the scheme. Guarantees are normally limited to NOK 12 million each, in line with the rules on de minimis aid




Aid instrument (Article 5)


Grant


Yes




Interest rate subsidy (on loans provided by Innovation Norway)


Yes




Loan


Yes




Guarantee/Reference to the EFTA Surveillance Authority’s decision


Yes — as de minimis aid or within the safe-harbour premiums for SMEs




PART II









General objectives (list)


Objectives (list)


Maximum aid intensity in % or maximum aid amount in NOK (1)



SME-bonuses in %




SME investment and employment aid
(Article 15)


 


20 % in the case of small enterprises
10 % in the case of medium-sized enterprises


 




Aid for small enterprises newly created by female entrepreneurs
(Article 16)


 


15 %


 




Environmental investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy sources
(Article 23)


45 %


20 % bonus to small enterprises
10 % bonus to medium-sized enterprises




Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs and SME participation in fairs
(Articles 26-27)


Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs
(Article 26)


50 %


 




Aid for SME participation in fairs
(Article 27)


 


 




Aid for research, development and innovation
(Articles 30-37)


Aid for research and development projects
(Article 31)


Fundamental research
(Article 31(2)(a))


 


 




Industrial research
(Article 31(2)(b))


50 %: a 15 % bonus may be added to all enterprises up to a maximum of 80 % if the prescribed conditions apply in paragraph 4 applies


20 % for small enterprises, 10 % for medium-sized enterprises




Experimental development
(Article 31(2)(c))


25 %: a 15 % bonus may be added to all enterprises if the prescribed conditions in paragraph 4 apply.


20 % for small enterprises, 10 % for medium-sized enterprises




Aid for technical feasibility studies
(Article 32)


65 % for studies preparatory to industrial research, and 40 % for studies preparatory to experimental development


10 % for small and medium-sized enterprises




Training aid
(Articles 38-39)


Specific training
(Article 38(1))


25 %


20 % for small enterprises, 10 % for medium-sized enterprises




General training
(Article 38(2))


60 %


20 % for small enterprises, 10 % for medium-sized enterprises






(1)  Amounts in NOK are subject to an exchange rate EURO:NOK of 1:8.