Brussels, 18/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 19 February, the European Commission published a new version of its guide to state aid for services of general interest, explaining how the European Commission's new state aid rules (the Almunia package introduced in December 2011 and April 2012) apply to services of general interest (see EUROPE 10454). The guide gives details of the leeway for member states to decide on what constitutes a service of general interest, legal requirements in this connection and compensation rules for suppliers of such services.
Under the new state aid rules for services of general interest, payment for public services of up to €500,000 for each company over three years is deemed to be not state aid; social services are not required to notify the Commission in advance of money they receive from the state, irrespective of the amount, but all other services of general interest are only exempt from the notification requirement if they receive less than €15 million a year; detailed examination is required of higher aid if it might amount to a distortion of competition within the single market. The guide provides useful information about the supply of social services and other matters. A series of measures on social investment will soon unveiled by the Commission, stressing the importance of efficient, high-quality social services. The new guide can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/overview/public_services_en.html. (FG/transl.fl)