Brussels, 07/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission today proposed a Regulation on research and development (R&D) aid in favour of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), aimed at simplifying and facilitating Member States' research and development initiatives. The proposal aims to grant Member States aid for research and development for SMEs, without having to notify the Commission beforehand, therefore getting rid of superfluous administrative procedures. It is the first time that the Commission foresees for a block exemption of research and development aid. The proposal foresees that Member States may cover up to 100% of expenses for fundamental (basic, non market-oriented) research, 60% for industrial (market-oriented) research and 35% for pre-competitive development (market-oriented research, but focusing on the pre-commercial stage). The new Regulation does not prejudge other types of research and development aid, but these aid measures will need to be notified and examined by the Commission on a case by case basis. Commenting on the proposal European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said this initiative was a response, "to the Lisbon objective to promote research and development and to the recently adopted Action Plan to increase research and development spending to 3% of GDP by the end of 2010." The Commissioner also considers that the proposals would enable a speedier implementation of the research and development measures taken by the Member States in favour of SMEs. Research Commissioner Busquin added: "Research in Europe has to face an uphill struggle: lack of co-ordination, insufficient public support, difficult access to capital, and unfriendly fiscal, legislative and regulatory frameworks hamper European R&D effectiveness".
In parallel to these measures, the Commission is launching massive consultation with the Member States to obtain their points of view on the exemption proposal. Once the consultation is finished, the Commission will adopt the Regulation at the end of this year.