Brussels, 17/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 17 January, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a draft report to provide civil services, courts, companies and other interested parties practical guidelines on how to decide which state aid measures constitute state aid under the EU treaty - and which therefore have to be notified to the European Commission for approval before they are put into practice. The Commission will use the consultation to help draw up new guidelines in the second half of the year. The draft document explains and illustrates how to identify state aid - an economic activity (the notion of “undertaking”); deciding whether the measure comes from the state; financing using state resources; economic advantage for the beneficiary; selectivity and the impact on trade and competition. The document will help stakeholders determine whether the sale of a public asset, a capital injection in a company or certain fiscal measures entail state aid that the Commission has to assess before the measures can be implemented. (FG/transl.fl)