Basically the answer is ‘no’. State aid to commercial firms can distort competition and impede the functioning of the internal market – that is why state aid is prohibited in principle in the EU. The prohibition on state aid is not absolute, however.
The EU Member States may provide state aid in certain cases. These cases concern situations in which the aid is deemed to have a positive effect on the EU as a whole and is motivated by the interest of regional development or the need to further political objectives in areas such as the environment, education, employment, etc. The Member States must in principle inform the Commission of any planned state aid (notification) and obtain the Commission’s approval before the aid is deployed.
However, there is an exception to the requirement that the Commission must give prior approval to such aid. This exception is called the ‘de minimis’ rule and means that aid below a certain amount can be provided to a firm without prior notification of the Commission, since it is assumed that aid below a certain value will not distort competition between the Member States.
In a decision from 1999 , the Commission informed Germany that the Commission was aware that Germany had extended aid to a firm producing condoms without first informing the Commission of the fact, which Germany should have done pursuant to the rules on state aid. However, the Commission had finally come to the view that the aid was in conformity with the conditions for state aid.|
Although state aid is prohibited in principle, it is possible to provide certain forms of state aid which are not considered to be in conflict with the EU rules:
• aid of a social nature to individual consumers In addition the Council may, on a request from a Member State, decide that concrete aid can be accepted although the aid is not strictly in conformity with the EU rules on state aid. |
Sidst opdateret: 24-07-2008 - ANSJ