REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION State Aid Scoreboard Report on state aid granted by the EU Member States- Autumn 2011 Update -
Date: 2011-12-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, State aid, aid to industry, control of State aid, economic recession, service industry

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 1.12.2011 
COM(2011) 848 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

State Aid Scoreboard 

Report on state aid granted by the EU Member States 

- Autumn 2011 Update - 

{SEC(2011) 1487 final} 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

State Aid Scoreboard 

Report on state aid granted by the EU Member States 

- Autumn 2011 Update - 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

State aid in the context of the economic crisis ........................................................................... 5 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

5. 

State aid in 2010........................................................................................................... 5 

Trends and patterns of state aid expenditure on non-crisis aid in the Member States . 6 

Trend of levels of non-crisis state aid to industry and services ................................... 7 

Non-crisis state aid earmarked for horizontal objectives of common interest............. 8 

State aid in the context of the financial and economic crisis ....................................... 8 

Trends in the approval and use of state aid measures for the financial sector ............. 8 

Approved amounts and amounts used under the temporary framework...................... 9 

Trends of State aid expenditure by type of aid measures........................................... 10 

Number of aid measures............................................................................................. 10 

Aid volumes - around 21% of aid to industry and services is block exempted ......... 11 

Enforcing the state aid rules....................................................................................... 11 

ANNEX.................................................................................................................................... 13 

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Summary of the Report's conclusions 

In 2010, total expenditure on non-crisis aid was relatively stable in the EU when compared to 
the  previous  year.  Member  States'  efforts  continued  to  reduce  their  overall  aid  levels  and 
some of them were able to substantially decrease their state aid spending. Overall, the trend 
over the period 2005-2010 shows a drop on the non-crisis aid expenditure.  

Aid  earmarked  for  horizontal  objectives  of  common  interest  remained  high  while  some 
Member States were able to further reduce aid granted for sectoral development. Aid granted 
under block exemption also increased when compared to previous years. Overall, the amount 
of  aid  which  was  granted  either  under  block  exemption  or  through  schemes  was  at  a  high 
level  whereas  the  level  of  individually  granted  aid,  authorised  by  a  Commission  decision, 
remained at a low volume.  

Activities to recover illegal state aid continued and more aid illegally granted was recovered 
from the beneficiaries, while some further cases were brought to court. 

In  2010  the  number  of  financial  crisis  support  measures  approved  by  the  Commission 
decreased substantially compared to the two previous years. However, most of the measures 
approved in the past are still operational.  

The  amount  actually  used  in  2010  for  recapitalisation  and  asset  relief  measures  is  highly 
concentrated  in  few  Member  State  while  a  large  part  of  the  amount  used  in  the  form  of 
guarantees and liquidity measures is still outstanding. 

In 2010, only a few new aid measures were granted under the Temporary Union Framework. 
The  majority  of  aid  measures  were  already  approved  in  2009  and  Member  States  granted 
signicantly  less  aid  under  the  Temporary  Union  Framework  in  2010  as  compared  to  2009. 
Furthermore,  the  aid  amount  used  remained  significantly  below  the  approved  aid  amount, 
mainly since the development of the economic situation was not very predictable and Member 
States were cautious in granting aid under the Temporary Union Framework by applying strict 
conditions.  

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The autumn 2011 update of the State Aid Scoreboard ("the Scoreboard") provides a synopsis 
of the information which Member States submitted this year in their annual report on state aid 
expenditure in 2010.  

For  reasons  of  methodology1  and  to  avoid  creating  a  distorted  picture  of  trends  in  state  aid 
expenditure, the Scoreboard distinguishes between non-crisis aid on the one hand (i.e. all aid 
granted  under  the  normal  EU  state  aid  rules)  and  crisis  aid  on  the  other  hand  (i.e.  all  aid 
granted to financial instutions and the real economy under the temporary state aid measures in 
response to the financial and economic crisis).2 

As regards non-crisis aid, the Scoreboard, in addition to a synopsis on expenditure in 2010, 
provides  an  overview  of  the  trends  in  state  aid  expenditure  to  industry  and  services 
(comparing  the  period  2005-2007  with  the  period  2008-2010)  and  by  type  of  aid  measures, 
i.e. block exempted aid, schemes and individual measures (whether individual applications of 
schemes or ad hoc decisions). 

As  regards  crisis  aid,  the  Scoreboard  provides  an  overview  of  amounts  approved  (as  from 
1 October  2008  until  1  October  2011)  and  amounts  used  (as  from  1  October  2008  until 
31 December  2010)  per  type  of  instrument  (recapitalisation,  guarantee,  impaired  assets, 
liquidity  measures).  Furthermore,  the  report  provides  information  on  aid  granted  under  the 
Temporary Community framework for State aid measures to support access to finance in the 
current  financial  and  economic  crisis  ("the  temporary  framework")3  in  the  form  of  the 
approved  amount  of  aid  and  the  amount  used.  The  Scoreboard  also  provides  an  update  on 
achievements in the field of enforcement of state aid rules.  

The  Scoreboard  consists  of  two  parts:  first  a  summary  Report,  adopted  by  the  College  of 
Commissioners focussing on key facts,  conclusions, trends and patterns with regard to state 
aid  granted  by  Member  States  and,  secondly,  a  Staff  Working  Document,  attached  to  the 
Report,  "Facts  and  figures  on  state  aid  in  the  EU  Member  States"  ("SWD"),  providing  the 
factual background. 

1 

2 

3 

While in previous editions of the Autumn Scoreboard one figure expressed the aid volume in absolute 
value and in relative value (% of GDP), this year's report distinguishes between non-crisis aid, crisis aid 
to  the  financial  sector  and  aid  granted  under  the  Temporary  Community  Framework  and  provides 
separate figures (in absolute and relative terms) accordingly. Read more detail on methodology in the 
corresponding note in the Staff Working Document accompanying this Report. 
To  calculate  crisis  aid,  this  Scoreboard,  in  line  with  the  Commission's  Staff  Working  Paper  on  the 
effects  of  the  temporary  state  aid  rules  adopted  in  the  context  of  the  financial  and  economic  crisis 
(http://ec.europa.eu/competition/publications/reports/temporary_stateaid_rules_en.html),  uses  only  two 
concepts:  the  committed  amount  of  aid  and  the  used  amount  of  aid.  The  commited  amount  (pledged 
volume of aid) respresents the overall maximum amount of state aid measures set up by Member States 
and approved by the Commission. The used amount of the aid expresses the actual volume of the aid 
measure which Member States implemented. The methodology used for calculating crisis aid is further 
explained in the Commission's Staff Working Paper. For all other aid, in addition to approved amounts 
and used amounts, Member States have, like in previous Scoreboards, also reported the aid element and 
total  expenditure  is  expressed  accordingly,  both  in  absolute  volume  and  in  %  of  GDP,  in  order  to 
present a comparable set of information. 
Consolidated  version  of  the  Communication  from  the  Commission  –  Temporary  Community 
framework  for  State  aid  measures  to  support  access  to  finance  in  the  current  financial  and  economic 
crisis ; OJ C 83, 7.4.2009, p. 1; as amended by OJ C 261, 31.10.2009, p. 1, and OJ C 303, 15.12.2009, 
p. 6. 

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It is noted that the EFTA Surveillance Authority also publishes an annual scoreboard4 which 
publishes updates on the volume of state aid granted in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. 

State aid in the context of the economic crisis 

In 2010, EU GDP grew from its negative level in 2009 towards a positive though relatively 
low level, below 1% on average. 

In the light of the ongoing crisis situation in the financial sector, Member States continued to 
provide aid to banks in order to inject further confidence into the sector and enabled banks in 
particular to continue to provide credit to the real economy. 

The economic situation of many businesses had gradually improved throughout 2010, which 
meant that Member States needed to grant less crisis aid to the real economy. 

Overall, the Commission's state aid control policy was one of the key factors ensuring that the 
implementation of the unprecedented rescue measures was achieved in a coordinated manner, 
without creating undue competition distortion in the internal market.  

1. 

STATE AID IN 2010 

In  2010,  Member  States  granted a  total  of  approximately  €  73.7  billion  in  the  form  of  non-
crisis aid, or in relative terms 0.6% of EU5 GDP.6 Crisis-related measures, i.e. aid granted to 
the financial sector through recapitalisation and impaired asset measures, amounted to € 121.3 
billion  (1%  of  EU  GDP)  while  the  overall  volume  of  average  outstanding  guarantees  and 
liquidity amounts to € 983.9 bill ion (8% of EU GDP). With respect to aid granted under the 
temporary framework, the amount used was approximately € 11.7 billion in 2010 or 0.9% of 
EU  GDP.  On  1  October  20117,  all  EU-158  Member  States  and  Cyprus,  Hungary,  Latvia, 
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia had had financial crisis measures approved by the 
Commission,  and  all  Member  States  except  Cyprus  had  aid  measures  approved  under  the 
temporary framework. 

Non-crisis aid can be further broken down into aid to industry and services, which amounted 
to a total of approximately € 61 billion or 0.5% of EU GDP 9 in 2010, and aid to agriculture, 
amounting  to  approximately  €  10.3  billion  or  0.08%  of  EU  GDP,  fisheries,  approximately 
€ 0.18 billion or 0.001% of EU GDP , and transport, at approximately € 3.2 billion or 0.02% of 
EU GDP.  

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See http://www.eftasurv.int/press--publications/scoreboards/state-aid-scoreboards/ 
EU means all Member States of the EU. 
The  total  covers  aid  to  manufacturing,  services,  coal,  agriculture,  fisheries  and  part  of  the  transport 
sector  but  excludes,  due  to  the  lack  of  comparable  data,  aid  to  the  railway  sector  and  aid  for 
compensation for services of general economic interest. Aid amounts refer to the aid element (or gross 
grant equivalent in case of guarantees or loans) contained in a state aid measure unless stated otherwise 
(for more details see the methodological note of the SWD). 
In order to give a complete picture on crisis aid, the whole of the period dating from the adoption of the 
Commission's crisis measures to a cut-off date of 1 October 2011 is used as the reference period for this 
part of the report.  
EU-15 comprises Member States that joined the EU before 2004. 
Coal, as part of sectoral aid and hence included in aid to industry and services, amounted to € 2.9 billion 
which represented 4.9% of total aid to industry and services. 

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Member  States  reported  that  aid  to  railways10  amounted  to  €  27.2  billion  or  0.2% 11  of  EU 
GDP in 2010.12 

The five largest grantors of non-crisis aid accounted for approximately € 45.7 billion, which 
represents  roughly  two-thirds  of  the  total  non-crisis  aid.  Germany  granted  a  volume  of 
approximately  €  15.9  billion,  or  21.6%  of  to tal  non-crisis  aid,  followed  by  France 
(approximately  €  15.4  billion  or  20.8%),  Spai n  (€  5  billion  or  6.8%),  the  United  Kingdom 
(€ 4.8  billion  or  6.5%)  and  Italy  (€  4.6  billion 
or  6.2%).  However,  a  different  picture  is 
revealed  when  reporting  on  the  aid  volume  as  a  percentage  of  GDP.  Hungary  granted  aid 
representing almost 2.3% of its national GDP, Malta 1.4%, Finland 1.1%, Slovenia 1.1% and 
Ireland 1.0%.  

2. 

TRENDS  AND  PATTERNS  OF  STATE  AID  EXPENDITURE  ON  NON-CRISIS  AID  IN  THE 
MEMBER STATES  

Figure 113: Total state aid (non-crisis aid) as % of GDP (EU-27; data as of 1992) 

Total state aid (less railways) as % of GDP; EU-27, as of 1992

P
D
G

f
o
%

1.4

1.2

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

EU-27

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Seen  from  a  long-term  prespective,  the  overall  level  of  state  aid  has  been  on  a  downward 
trend since the 1980s. From approximately 2% of EU GDP during the 1980s, it fell to about 
1% of EU GDP in the 1990s and decreased further to around 0.5% to 0.6% of EU GDP in the 
years 2004 – 2008, with an exceptional peak in 2006. Since 2008, the level of aid has begun 
to  show  a  moderate  increase  and  stood  at  approximately  0.6%  of  EU  GDP  in  2010. 
Concerning  the  reasons  for  the  past  decline  in  state  aid  expenditure,  reference  is  made  to 
previous Scoreboard reports.14  

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While information on aid to industry and services is collected from Member States pursuant to Annex 
III A of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1), the information on aid 
to railways is collected following a different concept which hence does not allow aggregating these data 
in any of the totals.  
At  the  moment  of  drafting  this  report,  information  on  railway  subsidies  was  submitted  by  Austria, 
Belgium  Denmark,  Estonia,  Spain,  Finland,  France,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Lithuania,  Latvia,  Portugagl 
and Sweden.  
Read more detail on aid to the transport sector in paragraph 2.3.5 of the SWD. 
Source: DG Competition; GDP figures: Eurostat. 
Autumn 2010 update, COM(2010) 701; Autumn 2009 update, COM (2009) 661 final. A copy can be 
downloaded from DG Competition's website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/studies_reports/archive/scoreboard_arch.html.  

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On a short-term view, the level of state aid expenditure has been roughly stable as from 2008, 
which is also suggested by the underlying trend, i.e. from about 0.062%15 to 0.60%16 of EU 
GDP.  It  appears  to  indicate  that,  while  Member  States  largely  maintained  their  state  aid 
discipline, their response to the financial and economic crisis contributed to a slightly higher 
aid level with respect to non-crisis aid in 2010. Furthermore, it also shows that Member States 
have  maintained  a  targeted  and  well  balanced  state  aid  policy  as  regards  non-crisis  related 
measures.  

Due  to  the  particular  features  associated  with  aid  to  agriculture,  fisheries  and  transport,  the 
following sections on levels and orientation of non-crisis aid (2.1 and 2.2) only deal with aid 
to industry and services. 

2.1. 

Trend of levels of non-crisis state aid to industry and services 

Crisis aid measures, which are discussed separately in chapter 3, were not taken into account 
when  analysing  aid  granted  to  industry  and  services;  this  was  in  order  to  avoid  a  very 
distortive  picture  on  aid  expenditure  to  industry  and  services.  Furthermore,  the  different 
methodology for calculating the aid amount granted to the financial institutions justified this 
exclusion. 

The trend in aid expenditure to industry and services in the EU has shown a moderate increase 
in  the  period  2008-2010  compared  to  the  previous  period  2005-2007.  On  average,  aid 
expenditure  amounted  to  approximately  €  59.9  billion  or  0.49%  of  EU  GDP,  while  it  had 
stood  at  €  52.8  billion  or  0.43%  of   EU  GDP  in  the  previous  period.  First,  it  shows  that  the 
financial  and  economic  crisis  has  apparently  had  some  impact  on  aid  expenditure  for  non-
crisis aid measures through which Member States gave more support in particular to regional 
development  and  research  and  development  and  innovation  ("R&D&I").  At  this  stage,  it 
would be too soon to conclude that the increase in the trend, which is first seen after aid levels 
have  come  down,  is  part  of  a  long-term  trend  that  is  beginning  or  whether  it  reflects  the 
particular situation of the financial and economic crisis during which higher aid levels could 
be expected for a short period.  

To say that Member States have generally been able to continue their efforts to keep overall 
aid levels under control can be supported by the fact that 11 Member States reduced their aid 
levels compared to the EU trend average.17 With respect to the other Member States for which 
an increase of the aid level was identified, most of the increase can be accounted for by aid 
earmarked under horizontal objectives, while sectoral aid decreased further in 2010.  

The small downward move in state aid expenditure for industry and services, decreasing by 
approximately  0.01%  between  2009  and  2010,  can  be  largely  explained  by  an  increase  in 
expenditure  for  regional  development  and  other  horizontal  objectives.  For  instance,  Greece, 
Lithuania  and  Romania  granted  more  regional  aid.  France,  Luxembourg  and  the  UK 
earmarked more aid for other horizontal objectives. At this stage, however, it is too early to 
know  whether  this  short-term  downward  move  in  state  aid  expenditure  to  industry  and 
services  represents  the  beginning  of  a  change  in  the  long-term  trend.  However,  it  does 
indicate that Member States have been able to respond flexibly to changing economic needs. 

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Period 2005-2007. 
Period 2008-2010. 
See figure 6 in the SWD. 

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Further increase of aid granted under block exemption18 and the continuing use of schemes by 
Member  States  indicate  that  these  tools  have enabled  Member  States  to  grant  aid  to  a  large 
number of enterprises without further individual notifications to the Commission.  

2.2. 

Non-crisis state aid earmarked for horizontal objectives of common interest 

It is recalled that the concept of horizontal aid, which covers aid that is not granted to specific 
sectors  of  the  economy,  derives  from  the  Treaty19;  this  leaves  room  for  the  Commission  to 
make  policy  choices  according  to  which  state  aid  can  be  considered  compatible  with  the 
internal  market  in  order  to  provide  effective  support  to  common  policy  objectives.  Most 
prominent  is  the  aid  earmarked  for  research,  development  and  innovation  ("R&D&I"), 
safeguarding  the  environment  and  fostering  energy  saving  and  promoting  the  use  of 
renewable  energies;  it  is  followed  by  regional  development,  aid  to  SMEs,  creation  of 
employment and promotion of training. 

In  2010,  a  total  of  approximately  €  51.9  billion,  or  0.42%  of  EU  GDP,  was  granted  in  the 
form  of  aid  earmarked  under  horizontal  objectives,  which  represented  85%  of  total  aid  to 
industry and services. The three most prominent objectives, regional development (24.3% of 
total  aid  to  industry  and  services),  environmental  protection  (23.7%)  and  R&D&I  (17.4%) 
together accounted for roughly two thirds of total aid to industry and services. This high aid 
volume earmarked for horizontal aid is also consistant with the general trend, which rose by 
approximately  2.2%  between  the  periods  2005-2007  and  2008-2010.  Moreover,  in  19 
Member  States  the  aid  level  earmarked  for  horizontal  objectives  exceeded  the  EU  average, 
while it was below 50% in only two Member States. 

With  respect  to  sectoral  aid  in  2010,  which  includes  rescue  and  restructuring  aid,  the  aid 
volume  represented  15%  of  total  aid  to  industry  and  services;  it  decreased  further  to  €  9.1 
billion or 0.07% of EU GDP. The main reason for this development is that less aid is being 
granted to the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.  

Overall, this long-term trend shows that Member States continued in their efforts to direct aid 
towards horizontal objectives of common interest.  

3. 

STATE AID IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS 

3.1. 

Trends in the approval and use of state aid measures for the financial sector 

The turmoil in the financial markets which was triggered by the financial crisis in 2008 called 
for broad-based intervention by European governments in order to curb the adverse effects of 
the shock. State aid to financial institutions was crucial as a means of restoring confidence in 
the financial sector with the aim of avoiding a systemic crisis. 

In the period between 1 October 200820 and 1 October 2011, the Commission approved aid to 
the financial sector for an overall amount of € 4506.5 billion (36.7% of  EU GDP). The bulk of 
the  aid  was  authorised  in  2008,  when  €  3457  b illion  (27.7%  of  EU  GDP)  were  approved, 

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Read more detail in chapter 4. 
For instance, Article 107(3)(a) with respect to regional aid, Article 107(3)(b) as to the execution of an 
important project of common European interest. 
2008 figures contain the budget approved for the recapitalisation of Northern Rock in 2007. 

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mainly under the form of guarantees on banks' bonds and short-term liabilities. Since 2008 the 
number  of  State  interventions  submitted  to  the  Commission's  approval  gradually  decreased, 
while as far as the instruments were concerned, the aid approved after 2008 focused more on 
recapitalisation of banks and impaired asset relief than on guarantees.  

In the period 2008-201021, the volume of aid actually used by Member States stood at € 1608 
billion22, accounting for 13.1 % of EU GDP. Guarantees and liquidity measures account for € 
1199 billion or 9.8 % of EU GDP. The remainder of the aid used refers to recapitalisation and 
impaired assets measures which amount to € 409 billion ( 3.3% of EU GDP).  

Financial Crisis Aid approved/used in 2010 

In 2010, the Commission authorised aid for an overall amount of € 383.8 billion, representing 
3.1%  of  EU  GDP.  The  new  aid  approved  is  concentrated  in  a  few  countries  and  involves 
recapitalisation  of  €  183.9  billion,  guarantees  fo r  €  55.4  billion,  impaired  assets  relief  for 
€ 77.9 billion and liquidity measures for € 66.7 billion.  

The  overall  volume  of  aid  used  in  2010  for  recapitalisation  and  impaired  assets  stood  at 
€ 121.3 billion (1% of EU GDP). New capital inj ections accounted for € 87.8 billion (0.7% of 
EU  GDP)  while  impaired  asset  relief  measures  accounted  for  €  33.6  b illion  (0.3%  of  EU 
GDP). With regards to guarantees and liquidity measures the average outstanding amount for 
the year 2010 stood at 983.9 billion (8% of GDP) of which € 922 billion (7.5% of EU GDP) 
relates to guarantees while €  61.9 billion (0.5% of EU GDP) relates to liquidity measures. 

3.2. 

Approved amounts and amounts used under the temporary framework  

Context and scope 

On  17  December  2008,  in  response  to  the  tightening  of  access  to  credit  which  companies 
faced as a result of the financial crisis, the Commission adopted the temporary framework. It 
placed the focus on, first, maintaining continuity in companies' access to finance and, second, 
preparing  the  ground  for  sustainable  long-term  growth  by  encouraging  investments. 
Furthermore,  some  of  the  rules  of  the  existing  guidelines  were  simplified,  for  example  by 
introducing higher ceilings for risk capital investments. The temporary framework is open to 
support all sectors of the economy, but excludes aid that would remedy pre-existing structural 
problems and hence does not apply to companies that were in difficulty before the crisis. 

The  temporary  framework  is  to  be  seen  as  part  of  a  wider  Commission  response  to  the 
economic crisis, namely the European Economic Recovery Plan.23  

In the light of the high volatility of the financial markets, coupled with uncertainty about the 
economic outlook, the Commission decided at the end of 2010 to prolong certain measures set 
out  in  the  temporary  framework  for  one  year,  while  phasing-out  the  possibility  to  grant  a 
limited  compatible  aid  amount  of  €  500,000  per  company  and  tightening  the  conditions  on 
which Member States can grant aid under the temporary framework.24  

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24 

2008 figures contain the budget used for the recapitalisation of Northern Rock in 2007. 
Including new aid as well as average outstanding amounts. 
Adopted in November 2008. 
Communication of the Commission – Temporary Union framework for State aid measures to support 
access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis; OJ C 6, 11.1.2011, p.5.  

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Measures approved under the temporary framework 

In  2010,  the  Commission  authorised  6  new  schemes  and  one  new  ad  hoc  aid  measure,  and 
prolonged 10 schemes under the temporary framework25, which amounted to a total approved 
volume  of  aid  of  €  1.6  billion  (0.01%  of  EU  GD P).  It  concerned  one  scheme  for  aid  up  to 
€ 500,000 per company (1 Member State), 1 subsid ised guarantee scheme (1 Member State), 
1  risk  capital  scheme  (1  Member  State)  and  3  Member  States  facilitated  export  activities 
through 3 export credit schemes. Furthermore, 10 new aid measures were granted under the 
temporary  framework  to  farmers.  With  respect  to  the  prolonged  schemes,  it  concerned  3 
schemes (3 Member States), 2 subsidised guarantee measures (2 Member States), 2 schemes 
for subsidised loan interests (2 Member States) and 3 schemes facilitating export activities.  

Since the entry into force of the temporary framework, the total approved volume which the 
Commission authorised under its provisions amounted to approximately € 82.9 billion. 26  

Aid amount used in 2010 

In  2010,  the  aid  amount  used  under  the  temporary  framework  stood  at  approximately 
€ 11.8 billion, or 0.09% of EU GDP.  

Most  Member  States  preferred  to  use  the  tool  of  the  limited  aid  amount  (roughly 
€ 5.3 billion),  followed  by  the  subsidised  guarantees   (€  2.9  billion),  subsidised  interest  rate 
loans (€ 2.7 billion) and risk capital aid (€ 0.77 b
production of green products were not used. 

illion). Subsidised interest rate loans for the 

The  total  amount  of  aid  used  under  the  temporary  framework  since  it  entered  into  force  is 
about € 32.8 billion.  

For more detail on aid granted under the temporary framework, see chapter 3.2 of the SWD.  

4. 

TRENDS OF STATE AID EXPENDITURE BY TYPE OF AID MEASURES 

4.1. 

Number of aid measures 

In  2010,  the  number  of  new  block  exempted  aid  measures  introduced  by  Member  States 
dropped  significantly  by  almost  half  compared  to  2009.  However,  the  proportion  of  aid 
granted through block exemption schemes and individual aid has remained stable. The main 
reason for the falling numbers is the fact that Member States created new aid measures under 
the General Block Exemption Regulation ("GBER"), which entered into force in September 
2008,  and  largely  replaced  existing  aid  measures  which  were  part  of  the  phasing-out  of  the 
previous block exemption regulations for employment aid, training aid and aid to SMEs and 
partly also regional aid. National budget restrictions in 2010 may have been a further factor in 
the reluctance of the Member States to create new aid measures under the block exemption.  

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26 

Read more detail in chapter 3.2 of the SWD. 
Cut-off date is 1 October 2011. 

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4.2. 

Aid volumes - around 21% of aid to industry and services is block exempted 

Block  exempted  aid  increased  further  by  about  € 1 billion 
to  stand  at  approximately 
€ 12.6 billion, or 0.1% of EU GDP, accounting for 21%  of total aid to industry and services in 
2010. The main contributors to the increase in block exempted aid in 2010 were regional aid, 
R&D&I  and  employment  aid,  while  block  exempted  aid  earmarked  for  SMEs  and  training 
were  decreasing,  but  not  compensating  for  the  total  increase  in  block  exempted  aid.  It  is 
recalled that Member States continued to phase out aid measures previously granted under the 
sectoral  block  exemption  regulations  and  replaced  them  by  corresponding  GBER  measures, 
whereby the new scope of the measure was often extended as now permitted under the GBER 
rules. 

5. 

ENFORCING THE STATE AID RULES 

Unlawful aid27 

In the period 2000-2010, the Commission took 980 decisions on unlawful aid. In about 22% 
of  unlawful  aid  cases28  the  Commission  intervened  by  taking  a  negative  decision  on  an 
incompatible  aid  measure.  Such  negative  decisions  normally  order  the  Member  State 
concerned  to  recover  the  illegally  awarded  aid.  In  a  further  3%  of  unlawful  aid  cases29,  the 
Commission  attached  conditions  to  the  decisions.  This  intervention  rate  of  about  25%  for 
unlawful aid is roughly ten times higher than the rate of negative and conditional decisions in 
duly  notified  cases.  More  than  half  of  the  interventions  were  in  the  industry  and  services 
sector,  slightly  less  than  one  quarter  were  in  agriculture  and  the  remainder  in  fisheries, 
transport and coal. 

Recovery of aid 

Further progress has been made towards the executing pending recovery decisions. The total 
number  of  pending  recovery  cases  stood  at  55  cases  (compared  to  94  cases  at  the  end  of 
2004). The amount of illegal and incompatible aid recovered since 2000 has further increased 
and amounted to more than € 11.5 billion on 30 J une 2011. This means that the percentage of 
illegal and incompatible aid still to be recovered has fallen from 75% at the end of 2004 to 
around 18.6% on 30 June 2011. 

Enforcement of State Aid Law: Cooperation with national courts 

In  the  follow-up  to  the  Notice  on  the  Enforcement  of  State  Aid  Law  by  National  Courts  of 
200930,  advocacy  efforts  have  intensified:  an  information  package  was  published  on 

27 

28 
29 
30 

Article 108(3) TFEU obliges Member States not only to notify state aid measures to the Commission 
before  their  implementation  but  also  to  await  the  outcome  of  the  Commission's  investigation  before 
implementing notified measures. When either of these obligations is not respected, the state aid measure 
is considered to be unlawful. 
217 cases. 
31 cases. 
Commission Notice on the enforcement of State aid law by National courts (OJ 85, 9.4.2009, p. 1) 

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DG Competition's  website31  and  a  booklet32  to  assist  judges  in  their  daily  work  was  widely 
distributed. Specific training for national judges has also been organised.33  

Ex-post monitoring 

With the entry into force of the GBER, an even larger number of aid measures are no longer 
subject to the notification obligation. The results showed that, overall, the part of the existing 
State  aid  architecture  allowing  the  approval  of  aid  schemes  and  enabling  Member  States  to 
implement aid measures under the GBER and BERs still functions reasonably well. However, 
a  number  of  individual  and  horizontal  issues  were  identified  which  need  to  be  followed  up 
with Member States. 

31 
32 
33 

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/court/state_aid.html  
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/publications/state_aid/national_courts_booklet_en.pdf  
Through  the  contact  point,  ec-amicus-state-aid@ec.europa.eu  several  requests  for  information  and 
opinion by national judges have been dealt with. 

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Commission Staff Working Document "Facts and figures on state aid in the EU Member 
States" 

ANNEX  

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