On Friday 31 May, the European Commission announced that it had adopted an amendment to the guidelines on regional state aid. This type of aid is used by Member States to promote regional development. Under the rules set out in the guidelines, Member States can grant support to businesses to encourage investment in certain less-favoured regions of Europe.
The amendment to the guidelines will allow Member States to grant higher amounts of regional aid for investment projects under the ‘Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform’, also known as ‘STEP’.
Indeed, Member States will be able to modify the regional aid map that they communicate to the European Commission in order to allow an increase in levels of aid for investments under the ‘STEP’ platform (see EUROPE 13205/3).
This aid may be increased by up to 10 percentage points in regions eligible for aid under Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (known as ‘a’ areas). In addition, aid may be increased by a maximum of 5 percentage points in regions eligible for regional aid under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (known as ‘c’ areas). (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)