BAKGRUNN (fra konsultasjonsnettsiden, engelsk utgave)

State funding meeting the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU constitutes State aid. However, in application of Art 109 TFEU, the Council, by adopting Regulation (EC) No. 994/98 ('Enabling Regulation') enabled the Commission to set out in a Regulation a threshold below which aid measures are deemed not to meet all the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU and are therefore exempted from the notification obligation under Article 108(3) TFEU.

On this basis, the Commission adopted Regulation (EC) 1998/2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (now Articles 107 and 108 TFEU) to de minimis aid, applicable since 1 January 2007. This Regulation set the de minimis ceiling at EUR 200 000 per undertaking granted over any period of three fiscal years, and thus considerably simplified the granting of small amounts of support. It will expire on 31 December 2013 and will therefore be reviewed.

On 8 May 2012, the Commission adopted a Communication on the State aid modernisation initiative ('SAM'), which shall launch and frame the political debate on the modernisation of State aid control. The review of the de minimis Regulation is an important element of SAM.