The European Commission published, on Thursday 12 November, the roadmap for the revision of the Guidelines on State aid for Environmental protection and Energy (EEAG).
Adopted in 2014 as part of the programme to modernise State Aid control, the current guidelines are applicable until 31 December 2021, with a one-year extension.
They aim to avoid distortions of competition in the Single Market when Member States decide to finance projects to improve environmental protection and the adequacy of energy production.
Scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021, the revision aims to modernise and simplify these guidelines in order to enable public authorities to contribute more to the EU’s environmental and energy goals in a cost-effective way, with minimum distortion of competition and trade within the Union.
The scope of the EEAG should thus be broadened, in the Commission’s view, by organising the rules around broader policy objectives, such as environmental protection (including climate neutrality and other objectives of the European Green Deal) and security of supply.
In particular, the Commission believes that the extension of the scope of the EEAG should be accompanied by a number of safeguards to ensure that the aid: (1) be effectively directed where it is needed (no ‘crowding out’ of private investment, no ‘greenwashing’); (2) be limited to what is necessary to meet environmental objectives in order to be cost-effective, minimise cost to the taxpayer and improve acceptability.
The public consultation period for this initiative will close on 7 January.
To see the roadmap and participate in the consultation: https://bit.ly/2IugfoZ (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)