Nieuw scoreboard: 15 lidstaten steunden eigen industrie met 53 mrd euro in 2003 (en)

The total amount of state aid granted by the then fifteen Member States was estimated at €53 billion in 2003 (0.57% of EU GDP), according to the latest EU State Aid Scoreboard compiled by the European Commission. The underlying trend in the total amount of aid is stable rather than downward, but there was a shift away from aid to individual companies and towards horizontal objectives and in particular R&D and the environment. By sector, around €32 billion of aid was earmarked for manufacturing and services, €14 billion for agriculture and fisheries, just over €5 billion for coal and a little over €1 billion for transport (excluding railways).

"I welcome the shift in all Member States away from supporting individual companies or particular sectors towards tackling horizontal objectives such as R&D, the environment and cohesion. I am however disappointed that the overall level of aid relative to GDP has not fallen in line with the commitments undertaken by the Member States themselves at the Stockholm European Council in 2001," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes i commented.

The main aim of this Scoreboard is to assess Member States' progress towards meeting the Lisbon objectives and in particular their commitments to reduce and redirect aid. This update also includes an insight into aid awarded to public service broadcasters and a section on the recovery of unlawful state aid.

The overall level of state aid granted by the (then) fifteen Member States was estimated at €53 billion in 2003. In absolute terms, Germany granted the most aid (€16 bn) followed by France (€9 bn) and Italy (€7 bn).