Brussels, 26/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - As part of the review and simplification of the rules on monitoring state aid, the European Commission launched a public consultation on 26 July (to run until 18 October 2012) calling on public authorities and stakeholders give their views on how current rules on small aid amounts. On the basis of the contributions received, the Commission will prepare a revision of Regulation No 1998/2006, known as the de minimis regulation, by the end of 2013. This regulation takes the view that public aid of less than €200,000 per company over a period of three tax years is not sufficient to distort competition in the internal market and therefore does not need to be notified to the Commission for approval under EU state aid rules. In light of the responses received, the Commission will carry out a careful assessment as to whether the €200 000 threshold remains appropriate and will also strive to further improve the simplification brought about by the de minimis regulation, thereby pursuing its objective of modernising state aid rules, with the Commission focusing on the cases that have the greatest impact on competition in the internal market. Stakeholders are invited to submit their observations and experiences by completing the questionnaire that can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2012_de_minimis/index_en.html (FG/transl.rt)