Draft of a revised General Block Exemption Regulation

On 25 February 2026, the European Commission published a draft for a simplified and streamlined General Block Exemption Regulation (‘AGVO’). The aim is to reduce administrative burdens and create a framework for faster and more legally secure state aid granting.

The revised AGVO is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

In a nutshell: What is the AGVO?

On the basis of the AGVO, Member States can grant numerous types of aid quickly and without prior approval by the Commission. In practice, the majority of aid granted is AGVO aid.

The most important changes at a glance Recommendations and next steps

• Simpler conditions for small amounts of aid regardless of company size (e.g. in the areas of R&D and environmental protection). This facilitates access for mid-caps and social enterprises.
• Greater consideration for SMEs, e.g. through more flexible risk finance instruments and aid for preferential tax treatment of share options and warrants for employees.
• Extension of operating aid for renewable energy by removing the annual overall cap (EUR 300 million). However, the cap per beneficiary remains in place.
• Higher aid intensities for projects in social or affordable housing, in particular for energy efficiency measures.
• Updated provisions for research, development and innovation, including support for young innovative companies and easier promotion of innovation clusters and research/testing infrastructures.
• More flexible rules for airport aid, in particular increasing the permissible size for airports in the context of operating aid.
• Introduction of simplified cost options for all aid-related measures (flat rates, unit costs, lump sums).
• Elimination of the evaluation requirement for aid schemes with high budgets.
• As the AGVO has become a complex and cumbersome document over time, the aid categories will now be grouped thematically. Relevant definitions will be included in the chapters relating to the aid in question. Illustrative elements will be removed from the AGVO and included in a guide to make the AGVO more readable.

You can submit a comment as part of the ongoing consultation (deadline: 23 February 2026). In addition, we recommend that funding bodies consider the draft at an early stage when planning their future funding programmes in order to take into account the (expected) future regulations.

CMS is happy to assist with any questions or concerns, from drafting a comment during the consultation process to designing a funding programme. We are keeping a close eye on the changes and will provide further updates as soon as the content, deadlines and framework conditions become more concrete.