CELEX: 52014PC0377
Language: en
Date: 2014-06-25
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of horizontal state aid (codification)

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		52014PC0377
		
			Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of horizontal state aid (codification) /* COM/2014/0377 final - 2014/0192 (COD) */
			
				
		
		
			
			   	EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.           In the context of a people’s
Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying
the law of the Union so as to make it clearer and more accessible to citizens,
thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific
rights it gives them.
This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous
provisions that have been amended several times, often quite substantially,
remain scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument
and partly in later amending ones. Considerable research work, comparing many
different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.
For this reason a codification of rules that
have frequently been amended is also essential if the law is to be clear and
transparent.
2.           On 1 April 1987 the Commission
decided[1] to instruct its staff that all acts should be codified after
no more than ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum
requirement and that departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter
intervals the texts for which they are responsible, to ensure that their
provisions are clear and readily understandable.
3.           The Conclusions of the Presidency
of the Edinburgh European Council (December 1992) confirmed this[2], stressing the importance of codification as it offers
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.
Codification must be undertaken in full
compliance with the normal procedure for the adoption of acts of the Union.
Given that no changes of substance may be made
to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement
dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the
fast-track adoption of codification instruments.
4.           The purpose of this proposal is
to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EC)
No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of
horizontal State aid[3]. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in
it[4]; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being
codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such
formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself. 
5.           The codification proposal was
drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, in 22 official
languages, of Regulation (EC) No 994/98 and the instrument amending it, carried out by the Publications
Office of the European Union, by means of a data‑processing system.
Where the articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old
and the new numbers is shown in a table set out in Annex II to the
codified Regulation.
ê 733/2013
Art. 1.1
2014/0192 (COD)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION
on the application of Articles 107 and 108
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of
horizontal state aid (codification)
(Text with EEA relevance)
ê 994/98
(adapted)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty Ö on the
Functioning of the European Union Õ , and in
particular Article Ö 109 Õ thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the
European Parliament[5],
Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[6],
Whereas:
ê 
(1)       Council Regulation (EC) No
994/98[7]
has been substantially amended[8].
In the interests of clarity and rationality that Regulation should be codified.

ê 994/98
recital 2 (adapted)
(2)       Under the Treaty Ö on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) Õ , the
assessment of compatibility of aid with the Ö internal Õ market
essentially rests with the Commission. 
ê 994/98
recital 3
(3)       The proper functioning of
the internal market requires strict and efficient application of the rules of
competition with regard to state aid.
ê 994/98
recital 4 (adapted)
(4)       The Commission should be enabled to declare by means of regulations,
in areas where the Commission has sufficient experience to define general compatibility
criteria, that certain Ö specified Õ categories of aid are compatible with the Ö internal Õ market pursuant to one or more of the provisions of Article Ö 107 Õ (2) and (3) Ö TFEU Õ and are
exempted from the procedure provided for in Article Ö 108 Õ (3) thereof.
ê 994/98 recital 5 (adapted)
(5)        Ö Block Õ exemption regulations
Ö ensure Õ transparency
and legal certainty. They can be directly applied by national courts, without
prejudice to Article Ö 4(3) of
the Treaty on European Union (TEU) Õ and Ö to
Article 267 Õ Ö TFEU Õ .
ê 733/2013
recital 2 (adapted)
(6)       State
aid is an objective notion defined in Article 107(1) TFEU. The power of the
Commission to adopt block exemptions as provided for in Ö this Õ Regulation
only applies to measures that fulfil all the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU
and therefore constitute state aid. Inclusion of a certain category of aid in Ö this Õ Regulation or
in an exemption regulation does not predetermine the qualification of a measure
as state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU.
ê 733/2013
recital 3 (adapted)
(7)        The Commission Ö should be enabled Õ to declare
that, under certain conditions, aid to small and medium-sized enterprises; aid in favour of research, development Ö and innovation Õ ; aid in favour of environmental protection; aid in favour of employment and training; and aid that complies with the map approved by the Commission for
each Member State for the grant of regional aid is compatible with the internal
market and not subject to the notification requirement.
ê 733/2013
recital 4 (adapted)
(8)       Innovation
has become a Union policy priority in the context of ‘Innovation Union’, one of
the Europe 2020 flagship initiatives. Moreover, many aid measures for
innovation are relatively small and create no significant distortions of
competition.
ê 733/2013
recital 5 (adapted)
(9)       In
the culture and heritage conservation sector, a number of measures taken by
Member States might not constitute aid because they do not fulfil all the
criteria of Article 107(1)TFEU, for example because the beneficiary does not
carry out an economic activity or because there is no effect on trade between
Member States. However, to the extent measures in the field of culture and
heritage conservation do constitute state aid within the meaning of Article
107(1) TFEU, the Commission Ö should be enabled to declare that, under certain conditions, that Õ aid Ö is compatible with the internal market and not subject to the
notification requirement Õ. Small culture, creation and heritage
conservation projects do not typically give rise to any significant distortion,
and recent cases have shown that such aid has limited effects on trade.
ê 733/2013
recital 6 (adapted)
(10)     Exemptions
in the culture and heritage conservation sector could be designed on the basis
of the Commission’s experience as set out in guidelines, such as for
cinematographic and audiovisual works, or developed case by case. When drafting
such block exemptions, the Commission should take into account that they should
only cover measures constituting state aid, that they should in principle focus
on measures that contribute to the objectives of ‘EU state aid modernisation’,
and that only aid is block-exempted in respect of which the Commission has
already substantial experience. Furthermore, the primary competence of the
Member States in the area of culture, the special protection enjoyed by
cultural diversity under Article 167(1) TFEU and the special nature of
culture should be taken into account.
ê 733/2013
recital 7 (adapted)
(11)     Ö As regards Õ state aid
measures to make good the damage caused by natural disasters Ö , as well as state aid measures to make good the damage caused by
certain adverse weather conditions in fisheries, Õ the amounts granted in Ö those areas Õ are usually
limited, and clear compatibility conditions can be defined. Ö This Õ Regulation Ö should enable Õ the Commission
to exempt such aid from the notification requirement. In the Commission’s
experience, such aid does not give rise to any significant distortion, and
clear compatibility conditions can be defined on the basis of the experience
acquired.
ê 733/2013
recital 9 (adapted)
(12)     In
accordance with Article 42 TFEU, state aid rules do not apply under certain
conditions to certain aid measures in favour of agriculture products listed in
Annex I to the TFEU. Article 42 does not apply to forestry or to products not
listed in Ö that Õ Annex . The
Commission should be able to exempt certain types of aid in favour of forestry,
including aid contained in the rural development programmes and also that in
favour of promoting and advertising food sector products not listed in Annex I Ö to the TFEU Õ , where, according to the Commission’s experience, the distortions of
competition are limited and clear compatibility conditions can be defined.
ê 733/2013
recital 10
(13)     According
to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006[9],
Articles 107, 108 and 109 TFEU apply to aid granted by the Member States to
enterprises in the fisheries sector, except for payments made by Member States
pursuant to, and in conformity with, Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.
Additional state aid for the conservation of marine and freshwater biological
resources usually has limited effects on trade between Member States, contributes
to the Union’s objectives in the field of maritime and fisheries policy, and
does not create serious distortions of competition. The amounts granted are
usually limited and clear compatibility conditions can be defined.
ê 733/2013
recital 11 (adapted)
(14)     In
the sports sector, in particular in the field of amateur sport, a number of
measures taken by Member States might not constitute aid because they do not
fulfil all the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU, for example because the beneficiary
does not carry out an economic activity, or because there is no effect on trade
between Member States. However, to the extent that measures in the field of
sports do constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, the
Commission Ö should be enabled to declare that, under certain conditions, that aid is compatible with the internal
market and not subject to the notification requirement Õ . State aid measures for sport, in particular those in the field of
amateur sport or those that are small-scale, often have limited effects on
trade between Member States and do not create serious distortions of
competition. The amounts granted are typically also limited. Clear
compatibility conditions can be defined on the basis of the experience acquired
so as to ensure that aid to sports does not give rise to any significant
distortion.
ê 733/2013
recital 12
(15)     In
relation to aid concerning air and maritime transport, in the Commission’s
experience, aid having a social character for the transport of residents of
remote regions such as outermost regions and islands, including single region
island Member States and sparsely populated areas, does not give rise to any
significant distortion, provided that it is granted without discrimination
related to the identity of the carrier. Moreover, clear compatibility
conditions can be defined.
ê 733/2013
recital 13
(16)     In
the field of aid to broadband infrastructure, the Commission has in recent years
acquired vast experience and has devised guidelines[10]. In the Commission’s experience, aid for certain types of broadband
infrastructure does not give rise to any significant distortion and could
benefit from a block exemption, provided that certain compatibility conditions
are met and that the infrastructure is deployed in ‘white areas’, being areas
where there is no infrastructure of the same category (either broadband or very
high-speed next-generation access, ‘NGA’) and where none is likely to be developed
in the near future, as outlined in the criteria developed in the guidelines.
This is true of aid covering the provision of basic broadband, as well as of
aid for small individual measures covering NGA networks, and of aid to
broadband-related civil engineering works and passive broadband infrastructure.
ê 733/2013
recital 14 (adapted)
(17)     As
regards infrastructure, a number of measures taken by Member States might not
constitute aid because they do not fulfil all the criteria of Article 107(1)
TFEU, for example because the beneficiary does not carry out an economic
activity, because there is no effect on trade between Member States, or because
the measure consists of compensation for a service of general economic interest
which fulfils all the criteria of the Altmark case-law[11]. However, to the extent that the financing of infrastructure
constitutes state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, the Commission
Ö should be enabled to declare that, under certain conditions, that aid is compatible with the internal
market and not subject to the notification requirement Õ . With regard to infrastructure, small amounts of aid for
infrastructure projects can be an efficient way of supporting the Union’s objectives, to the extent Ö that Õ the aid
minimises costs and the potential distortion of competition is limited. The
Commission should therefore be able to exempt state aid for infrastructure
projects that are in support of the objectives mentioned in this Regulation and
in support of other objectives of common interest, in particular the Europe
2020 objectives[12]. This could include support for projects involving multi-sectoral
networks or facilities where relatively small amounts of aid are necessary.
However, block exemptions can only be granted for infrastructure projects where
the Commission has enough experience to define clear and strict compatibility
criteria, ensuring that the risk of potential distortion of competition is
limited and that large amounts of aid remain subject to notification pursuant
to Article 108(3) TFEU.
ê 994/98
recital 6 (adapted)
(18)     It is appropriate that the
Commission, when it adopts regulations exempting categories of aid from the
obligation to notify provided for in Article Ö 108 Õ (3) Ö TFEU Õ , specifies
the purpose of the aid, the categories of beneficiaries and thresholds limiting
the exempted aid, the conditions governing the cumulation of aid and the
conditions of monitoring, in order to ensure the compatibility with the Ö internal Õ market of aid
covered by this Regulation.
ê 733/2013
recital 16 (adapted)
(19)      Thresholds for each category
of aid in respect of which the Commission adopts a block exemption regulation Ö can Õ be expressed in
terms of aid intensities in relation to a set of eligible costs, or in terms of
maximum aid amounts. Ö Moreover, the Commission should also be enabled to issue block exemptions for Õ certain types
of measures involving state aid which, because of the specific way in which
they are designed, cannot be expressed precisely in terms of the aid intensities
or maximum amounts of aid, such as financial engineering instruments or certain
forms of measures aimed to promote risk capital investments. Such complex
measures may involve aid at different levels: direct beneficiaries,
intermediate beneficiaries and indirect beneficiaries. Given the increasing
importance of such measures and their contribution to the Union’s objectives, Ö it Õ should be
possible to exempt them. It should therefore be possible, in the case of such
measures, to define the thresholds for a particular award of aid in terms of
the maximum level of state support in or related to that measure. The maximum
level of state support may comprise an element of support, which may not be state
aid, provided that the measure includes at least some elements that contain state
aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU and which elements are not
marginal.
ê 994/98
recital 8 (adapted)
(20)     It may be useful to set
thresholds Ö or Õ other
appropriate conditions requiring the notification of awards of aid in order to
allow the Commission to examine individually the effect of certain aid on
competition and trade between Member States and its compatibility with the Ö internal Õ market.
ê 994/98
recital 7 (adapted)
(21)     It is appropriate to enable
the Commission, when it adopts regulations exempting certain categories of aid
from the obligation to notify in Article Ö 108 Õ (3) Ö TFEU Õ , to attach
further detailed conditions in order to ensure the compatibility with the Ö internal Õ market of aid
covered by this Regulation.
ê 994/98
recital 9 (adapted)
(22)     The Commission, having
regard to the development and the functioning of the Ö internal Õ market, should
be enabled to establish by means of a regulation that certain aid does not
fullfil all the criteria of Article Ö 107 Õ (1) Ö TFEU Õ and is
therefore exempted from the notification procedure laid down in Article Ö 108 Õ (3) Ö TFEU Õ , provided
that aid granted to the same undertaking over a given period of time does not
exceed a certain fixed amount.
ê 994/98
recital 10 (adapted)
(23)     In accordance with Article Ö 108 Õ (1) Ö TFEU Õ the Commission
is under an obligation, in cooperation with Member States, to keep under
constant review all systems of existing aid. For this purpose and in order to
ensure the largest possible degree of transparency and adequate control it is
desirable that the Commission ensures the establishment of a reliable system of
recording and storing information about the application of the regulations it
adopts, to which all Member States have access, and that it receives all
necessary information from the Member States on the implementation of aid
exempted from notification to fulfil this obligation, which may be examined and
evaluated with the Member States within the Advisory Committee Ö on state
aid Õ . For this
purpose it is also desirable that the Commission may require such information
to be supplied as is necessary to ensure the efficiency of such review.
ê 733/2013
recital 17 (adapted)
(24)      Member States Ö should Õ provide
summaries of information concerning aid implemented by them which is covered by
an exemption regulation. The publication of those summaries is necessary to
ensure the transparency of the measures adopted by the Member States. With the
growth of electronic communication media, publication of the summaries on the
website of the Commission is a fast and effective method Ö ensuring Õ transparency
for the benefit of interested parties. Therefore, those summaries should be
published on the website of the Commission.
ê 994/98
recital 11 (adapted)
(25)     The control of the granting
of aid involves factual, legal and economic issues of a very complex nature and
great variety in a constantly evolving environment. The Commission should
therefore regularly review the categories of aid which should be exempted from
notification. The Commission should be able to repeal or amend regulations it
has adopted pursuant to this Regulation where circumstances have changed with
respect to any important element which constituted grounds for their adoption
or where the progressive development or the functioning of the Ö internal Õ market so
requires.
ê 994/98
recital 12 (adapted)
(26)     The Commission, in close
and constant liaison with the Member States, should be able to define precisely
the scope of those regulations and the conditions attached to them. In order to
provide for cooperation between the Commission and the competent authorities of
the Member States, it is appropriate Ö that
the Õ Advisory Committee
on state aid be consulted before the Commission adopts regulations pursuant to
this Regulation.
ê 733/2013
recital 18 (adapted)
(27)      Draft regulations and
other documents to be examined by the Advisory Committee on state aid in
accordance with Ö this Õ Regulation
should be published on the website of the Commission to ensure transparency.
ê 733/2013
recital 19 (adapted)
(28)      The Advisory Committee on state
aid Ö should Õ be consulted
before publication of a draft regulation. In the interest of transparency, the
draft regulation should be published on the website of the Commission at the
same time as the Commission consults the Advisory Committee for the first time,
ê 994/98
(adapted)
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Ö Block Õ exemptions
1. The Commission may, by means of
regulations adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of
this Regulation and in accordance with Article Ö 107 Õ Ö TFEU Õ , declare that
the following categories of aid Ö are Õ compatible with
the Ö internal Õ market and Ö are Õ not subject to
the notification requirements of Article Ö 108 Õ (3) Ö TFEU Õ :
ê 733/2013
Art. 1.2(a) (adapted)
(a)          aid
in favour of:
(i)      small
and medium-sized enterprises;
(ii)     research, development and innovation;
(iii)    environmental protection;
(iv)    employment and training;
(v)     culture and heritage conservation;
(vi)    making good the damage caused by
natural disasters;
(vii)   making good the damage caused by
certain adverse weather conditions in fisheries;
(viii)  forestry;
(ix)    promotion of food sector products not
listed in Annex I of the TFEU;
(x)     conservation of marine and freshwater
biological resources;
(xi)    sports;
(xii)   residents of remote regions, for
transport, when this aid has a social character and is granted without
discrimination related to the identity of the carrier;
(xiii)  basic broadband infrastructure, small
individual infrastructure measures covering next-generation access networks,
broadband-related civil engineering works and passive broadband infrastructure,
in areas where there is either no such infrastructure or where no such
infrastructure is likely to be developed in the near future;
(xiv)  infrastructure in support of the
objectives listed in points (i) to (xiii) Ö as well
as Õ in point (b)
of this paragraph and in support of other objectives of common interest, in
particular the Europe 2020 objectives;
ê 994/98
(b)          aid that complies with the map
approved by the Commission for each Member State for the grant of regional aid.
2. The regulations referred to in paragraph
1 shall specify for each category of aid:
(a)          the purpose of the aid;
(b)          the categories of beneficiaries;
ê 733/2013
Art. 1.2(b)
(c)          thresholds expressed in terms of
aid intensities in relation to a set of eligible costs or in terms of maximum
aid amounts or, for certain types of aid where it may be difficult to identify
the aid intensity or amount of aid precisely, in particular financial
engineering instruments or risk capital investments or those of a similar
nature, in terms of the maximum level of state support in or related to that
measure, without prejudice to the qualification of the measures concerned in
the light of Article 107(1) TFEU;
ê 994/98
(d)          the conditions governing the
cumulation of aid;
(e)          the conditions of monitoring as
specified in Article 3.
3. In addition, the regulations referred to
in paragraph 1 may, in particular:
(a)          set thresholds or other
conditions for the notification of awards of individual aid;
(b)          exclude certain sectors from
their scope;
(c)          attach further conditions for the
compatibility of aid exempted under such regulations.
ê 994/98
(adapted)
Article 2
De minimis
1. The Commission may, by means of a regulation
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of this
Regulation, decide that, having regard to the development and functioning of
the Ö internal Õ market,
certain aid does not meet all the criteria of Article Ö 107 Õ (1) Ö TFEU Õ and that it is
therefore exempted from the notification procedure provided for in Article Ö 108 Õ (3) Ö TFEU Õ , provided
that aid granted to the same undertaking over a given period of time does not
exceed a certain fixed amount.
2. At the Commission’s request, Member
States shall, at any time, communicate to it any additional information
relating to aid exempted under paragraph 1.
Article 3
Transparency and monitoring
1. When adopting regulations pursuant to
Article 1, the Commission shall impose detailed rules upon Member States to
ensure transparency and monitoring of the aid exempted from notification in
accordance with those regulations. Such rules shall consist, in particular, of
the requirements laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.
ê 733/2013
Art. 1.3
2. Upon implementing aid systems or
individual aids granted outside any system, which have been exempted pursuant
to regulations referred to in Article 1(1), Member States shall forward to the
Commission, with a view to publication on the website of the Commission,
summaries of the information regarding such systems of aid or such individual
aids as are not covered by exempted aid systems.
ê 994/98
(adapted)
3. Member States shall record and compile
all the information regarding the application of the Ö block Õ exemptions. If
the Commission has information which leads it to doubt that an exemption
regulation is being applied properly, the Member States shall forward to it any
information it considers necessary to assess whether an aid complies with that
regulation.
4. At least once a year, Member States
shall supply the Commission with a report on the application of Ö block Õ exemptions, in
accordance with the Commission’s specific requirements, preferably in
computerised form. The Commission shall make access to those reports available
to all the Member States. The Committee referred to in Article 7 shall examine
and evaluate those reports once a year.
Article 4
Period of validity and amendment of
regulations
1. Regulations adopted pursuant to Articles
1 and 2 shall apply for a specific period. Aid exempted by a regulation adopted
pursuant to Articles 1 and 2 shall be exempted for the period of validity of
that regulation and for the adjustment period provided for in paragraphs 2 and
3 Ö of this
Article Õ .
2. Regulations adopted pursuant to Articles
1 and 2 may be Ö repealed Õ or amended
where circumstances have changed with respect to any important element that
constituted grounds for their adoption or where the progressive development or
the functioning of the Ö internal Õ market so
requires. In that case the new regulation shall set a period of adjustment of
six months for the adjustment of aid covered by the previous regulation.
3. Regulations adopted pursuant to Articles
1 and 2 shall provide for a period as referred to in paragraph 2 Ö of this
Article Õ , should their
application not be extended when they expire.
Article 5
Evaluation report
Every five years the Commission shall
submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the
application of this Regulation. It shall submit a draft report for
consideration by the Committee referred to in Article 7.
Article 6
Hearing of interested parties
Where the Commission intends to adopt a
regulation, it shall publish a draft thereof to enable all interested persons
and organisations to submit their comments to it within a reasonable time limit
to be fixed by the Commission and which may not under any circumstances be less
than one month.
Article 7
Advisory Committee Ö on
state aid Õ
 Ö The Õ Advisory Committee
Ö on state
aid Õ (hereinafter
referred to as ‘the Committee’) shall be set up. It shall be composed of
representatives of the Member States and chaired by Ö a Õ representative
of the Commission.
Article 8
Consultation of the Committee 
1. The Commission shall consult the Committee:
ê 733/2013
Art. 1.4(a)
(a)          at the same time as publishing
any draft regulation in accordance with Article 6;
ê 994/98
(adapted)
è1 733/2013 Art. 1.4(b)
(b)          before adopting any regulation.
2. Consultation of the Committee shall take
place at a meeting called by the Commission. è1 The drafts and documents to be examined shall be
annexed to the notification and may be published on the Commission
website. ç The meeting
shall take place no earlier than two months after notification has been sent.
This period may be reduced in the case of
the consultations referred to in paragraph 1(b), when urgent or for simple
extension of a regulation.
3. The representative of the Commission
shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the
chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by
taking a vote.
4. The opinion shall be recorded in the
minutes. In addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its
position recorded in the minutes. The Committee may recommend the publication
of the opinion in the Official Journal of the European Ö Union Õ .
5. The Commission shall take the utmost
account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the
Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.
ê 
Article 9
Repeal
Regulation (EC) No 994/98 is repealed.
References to the repealed Regulation shall
be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex II.
ê 994/98
(adapted)
Article 10
Ö Entry
into force Õ
This Regulation shall enter into force on
the Ö twentieth Õ day following Ö that
of Õ its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Ö Union Õ .
This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                       For
the Council
                                                                       The
President
[1]               COM(87) 868 PV.
[2]               See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
[3]               Entered in the legislative programme for 2014.
[4]               See Annex I to this proposal.
[5]               OJ C […], […], p. […].
[6]               OJ C […], […], p. […].
[7]               Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on
the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union to certain categories of horizontal State aid (OJ L 142,
14.5.1998, p. 1).
[8]               See Annex I.
[9]               Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (OJ L 223, 15.8.2006,
p. 1).
[10]             Communication from the Commission — EU Guidelines for
the application of State aid rules in relation to the rapid deployment of
broadband networks (OJ C 25, 26.1.2013, p. 1).
[11]             Judgment of the Court of Justice of 24 July 2003 in
Case C-280/00, Altmark Trans GmbH and Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg v Nahverkehrsgesellschaft
Altmark GmbH ([2003] ECR I-7747).
[12]             See Council Recommendation 2010/410/EU of 13 July 2010
on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union (OJ L 191, 23.7.2010, p. 28) and Council Decision 2010/707/EU of 21 October 2010
on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (OJ L 308,
24.11.2010, p. 46).