The European Commission launched a public review of Agricultural State aid guidelines from 26 April until 19 July.
The Commission may authorise this type of State aid under certain conditions, notably for reasons of economic development or market failure. As a general rule, Member States must notify State aid to the Commission. The Commission assesses the notified aid on the basis of guidelines and then takes a decision to authorise it. However, in order to simplify State aid procedures, the Commission can adopt regulations exempting certain categories of aid from the notification requirement ('block exemption regulations').
A specific framework of State aid rules has been set up for agriculture, forestry and rural areas. This framework includes both State Aid guidelines and a block exemption regulation. However, those two instruments will expire at the end of 2020 and need to be replaced by new guidelines and a new regulation for the period 2021-2027.
In this context, the Commission is carrying out an evaluation of the performance of the current rules and will conduct an impact assessment to prepare for the future State aid framework. The consultation linked to this process aims at collecting information and views on both the performance of the current rules and the possible design of the future rules. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)