On Thursday 9 March, the European Commission approved a targeted amendment to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) to further facilitate, simplify and accelerate support for the EU’s dual green and digital transition.
This targeted amendment, which complements the new Temporary Crisis Framework (see other news), is intended to make it easier for Member States to provide the necessary support to key sectors, in line with the Green Deal industrial plan.
The GBER declares certain categories of State aid compatible with the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, subject to conditions.
The revised rules:
- strengthen and streamline the possibilities for aid in the field of environmental protection and energy to support the deployment of renewable energy, decarbonisation projects, green mobility and biodiversity and to facilitate investments in renewable hydrogen;
- facilitate the implementation of certain projects involving beneficiaries from more than one Member State, including important projects of common European interest (IPCEI), in the field of research and development, by increasing the aid intensities and notification thresholds;
- extend the possibilities for training and reskilling in all sectors by exempting training aid of less than €3 million from notification;
- block exempt aid measures put in place by Member States to regulate the prices of energy such as electricity, gas and heat produced from natural gas or electricity;
- raise the notification thresholds for environmental aid and research aid;
- clarify the possibilities for risk financing aid for SMEs and start-ups as well as for financial products supported by the InvestEU Fund.
The GBER is extended until the end of 2026 for reasons of legal certainty.
Link to the text: https://aeur.eu/f/5q5 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)