Brussels, 05/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 5 February, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to Czech Republic's map for granting state aid between 2014 and 2020 to companies in order to boost the development of various regions of the country.
The map identifies areas with per inhabitant GDP of below 75% of the EU average and therefore eligible for state aid up to a certain level. Some 88.1% of the Czech population across virtually all regions will continue to benefit from aid of up to 25% of admissible investment projects costs. The Prague region, where 11.9% of Czechs live and whose per inhabitant GDP is over 100% of the EU average, is not included in the aid map (as has been the case since 2009). The intensity of eligible aid for Czech regions has reduced slightly, by between 5% and 10%, compared with the previous aid map, but the geographical coverage remains largely unchanged. (FG/transl.fl)