European Commissions call for evidence consultation on the de minimis Regulation

On 27 June 2022, the European Commission launched a public call for evidence on Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 on de minimis aid.

Under this Regulation, public authorities may grant aid of limited amounts, up to EUR200,000 per company and per country over three fiscal years, without the aid having to be notified to the European Commission for authorisation or subject to other constraints in terms of eligible expenditure, aid intensity, etc. Such aid is not considered to be State aid within the meaning of European law because it is not likely to affect competition and trade between Member States.

Although often misunderstood, de minimis aid has the merit of being flexible because it can cover all types of cost without too many administrative constraints.

This Regulation is in force until the end of December 2023. This is why the Commission has decided to continue its revision procedure in order to sound out stakeholders on the scope of its revision. The Commission launched a first call for evidence in 2019.

The changes envisaged have two aims.

The first would be to increase the de minimis aid ceiling (currently EUR200,000) because of expected inflation by 2030 and, more generally, in view of the economic developments. In 2019, the Commission had already announced a possible increase in the ceiling to EUR 500,000. Note that the ceiling was raised from EUR 100,000 to EUR 200,000 in 2006.

In addition, as part of its assessment of current State aid rules, the Commission is considering the creation of a compulsory register of beneficiaries for this type of aid in order to ensure greater transparency of the aid granted and to reduce the administrative burden on companies that currently have to provide declarations on honour as to the amount of aid received. Such a national register had previously been envisaged under the current Regulation, but the Commission decided against making it compulsory because of opposition from Member States.

If you’re a public authority, a company with economic activities in the European Union or an interested party, we encourage you to submit your comments by 25 July 2022 via the following link: Public Consultations (europa.eu).

Do not hesitate to participate!