The European Commission announced on Friday that it has approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, the regional aid maps covering the period 2007-2013 for Luxembourg and Malta.
These decisions form part of a wider exercise to review regional aid systems in all Member States in accordance with the new Regional Aid Guidelines adopted in December 2005.
The new guidelines aim at re-focussing regional aid on the most deprived regions of the enlarged EU, while allowing for improvement of competitiveness and to provide for a smooth transition. The maps of seven other Member States have already been approved by the Commission.
A regional aid map defines the regions of a Member State eligible for national regional investment aid for large enterprises under EC Treaty state aid rules and establishes the maximum permitted levels of such aid in the eligible regions.
The adoption of the regional aid map for the Member State concerned is a pre-condition to ensure the continuity of the regional policy and Structural Fund programmes after 2006, as all current maps will expire on December 31st. If no new regional aid map is approved by the Commission before January 1st, 2007, the Member State in question will not be able to grant any regional aid within its territory..
Article 87 (3) (a) of the EC Treaty foresees the possibility to grant regional state aid to promote the economic development of areas where the standard of living is abnormally low or where there is serious underemployment. The Regional Aid Guidelines define this type of region as having a GDP below 75% of the Community average. In line with these principles, the entire territory of Malta will continue to be eligible for regional investment aid at a maximum aid intensity of 30% of the eligible costs.
Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty, meanwhile, foresees the possibility to grant regional state aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
The regional aid guidelines define this type of region as areas of a Member State which are disadvantaged in relation to the national average. As these regions are less disadvantaged than areas covered by Article 87(3)(a), both the geographical scope and the aid intensity are strictly limited.
In line with these principles, 16% of Luxembourg’s population remain eligible for regional investment aid at a maximum aid intensity of 10% of the eligible costs.
Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes observed that:
“The approved regional aid maps support our cohesion policy and contribute to the State Aid Action Plan’s objective of less and better targeted aid. Luxembourg and Malta will now be able to organise a smooth transition from their current regional aid system towards their regional development strategies for 2007-2013.”
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment