The EU guidelines on State Aid for Environmental protection and Energy (EEAG) need to be revised so that they can help accelerate the decarbonisation of the European economy, according to a report published on Tuesday 22 September by the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), an independent think-tank.
According to CERRE, the revised guidelines should, inter alia, enable the development of new energy technologies and measures aimed at achieving the EU's climate objectives.
The organisation further recommends defining clear assessment criteria to determine the extent to which the proposed State aid contributes to an ‘objective of common interest’ and updating the definition of the term ‘objective of common interest’ by including, for example, the notion of “ resilience ”.
Coincidentally, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President responsible for Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager, indicated ,on the same day, that she would shortly be launching a public consultation on, among other things, how to make European State Aid “more green ” (see EUROPE 12565/20).
On Monday, the Commission also presented updated guidelines on aid linked to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) (see EUROPE 12564/6).
See the CERRE report: https://bit.ly/3625rIn (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)