Soepele EU-regels inzake staatssteun aan midden- en kleinbedrijf (MKB) (en)

The main thrust of the amendments is twofold: As of 1 January 2005 the new definition of small and medium sized enterprise ("SME") - adopted earlier this year - will be integrated into the Commission regulations on training aid and on aid to SMEs. In addition, the scope of the Commission regulation that governs State aid for research and development (R&D) will be extended to cover such aid in favour of SMEs.

The amendments concern two Commission Regulations:

• No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid and

• No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

According to the amended version of Regulation 70/2001, the block exemption regulation on SMEs, aid to SMEs will no longer have to be notified to the Commission before it can be granted. Member States will be entitled to grant such aid directly, provided that it fulfils the conditions of Regulation 70/2001. This will facilitate and accelerate the granting of such aid by Member States and thereby reduce the number of notifications and hence the administrative burden both on Member States and on the Commission.

The Commission had already stated its intention to extend the scope of Regulation 70/2001 in order to cover R&D- aid in an action plan adopted in order to achieve the objective set by the European Council of Barcelona. The Barcelona objective aims to increase investment for research and development in Europe to 3% of the GDP by 2010. The block exemption regulation will cover aid programmes for SMEs as well as individual aid. Beyond a certain threshold, such aid will however remain subject to individual notification to the Commission.

In substance, the rules applicable to R&D aid to SMEs under Regulation 70/2001 will in principle remain identical to those in the Community framework for State aid for Research and Development (R&D-framework). Certain clarifications, however, have been inserted in order to meet the requirements of a directly applicable regulation. Furthermore, the regulation now provides for a uniform aid intensity of 75% for feasibility studies, regardless of whether they are preceding industrial research or precompetitive development. For feasibility studies preceding precompetitive development activities, the framework only allows an aid rate of 50%.

With the entry into force of the amendments, the R&D-framework will not be abolished, but continue to exist. It will remain applicable to all R&D-aid that is notified to the Commission, i.e. all R&D-aid subject to obligatory notification, in particular aid to large companies, as well as all R&D-aid which Member States decide to notify on a voluntary basis. Should in a specific case a Member State feel that the Commission should assess the aid to SMEs, it remains free to notify such aid, and the Commission will assess it under the R&D framework.

The Commission and the Member States agreed that Regulation 70/2001 was not the right place to review the basic definitions and concepts of the R&D-framework. Nevertheless, there is agreement that such a review, taking account of all developments since its entry into force in 1996, should be addressed in the context of the revision of the R&D-framework. This review has to be conducted prior to the end of 2005.

The amendments were adopted following a publication of their draft, inviting all interested parties to comment , and following consultation of Member States in the Advisory Committee on State aid.