On Tuesday 10 December, the European Commission adopted an amendment to the de minimis regulation for the agricultural sector, doubling the maximum ceiling to €50,000 per beneficiary over three years.
The regulation exempts small amounts of support in the agricultural sector from state aid control, as they are deemed not to have any impact on competition and trade in the single market. The revised regulation will come into force three days after its publication in the Official Journal and will apply until 31 December 2032.
Under the current de minimis regulation for agriculture, Member States may grant support of up to €20,000 per beneficiary (€25,000 if the Member State has a central register for recording de minimis aid) over a period of three fiscal years without having to notify the Commission in advance for approval.
The amendment increases the maximum de minimis ceiling per company over three years from €25,000 to €50,000 in order to take account of a number of factors, including experience gained, market developments and the exceptional sector-specific inflation in recent years, as well as taking account of expected inflation up to the date of expiry of the regulation. Germany and France had called for €50,000 (the Commission had proposed €37,000: see EUROPE 13488/2). The national caps are raised from 1.5% to 2% of national agricultural output, and the reference period is extended from 2012-2017 to 2012-2023.
Details: https://aeur.eu/f/eqc (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)