On Friday 30 September, the European Commission stated that the planned Lithuanian public support to "Science and Technology Parks" is not state aid liable to distort competition on the single market. The Commission explains that this is because the public support will be fully transferred by Science and Technology Parks to SMEs.
It believes that its decision recognises the importance of the role of innovation intermediaries, in this case Science and Technology Parks, in promoting the creation and growth of innovation-oriented SMEs. These intermediaries make equipment and technical knowledge available to these SMEs to overcome the most common obstacles to the initial development of small business.
Amongst other things, the Commission asked Lithuania to ensure that the public support, in the form of the rent-free use of buildings, is fully passed on to the SMEs, to claw back any residual advantage at the level of the Science and Technology Parks and to ensure full transparency of the support to SMEs, in particular to guarantee that it meets the conditions required for de minimis support (for example, no more than €200,000 per SME over three years). (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)