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EU Competition Policy

State Aid

State aid refers to advantages granted by national public authorities to specific companies or sectors that may distort competition and trade within the EU. To ensure a fair and equitable market, Article 107 TFEU generally prohibits State aid unless specific exemptions apply.

What Qualifies as State Aid?
A measure is considered State aid if it meets these criteria:

State intervention: Involves State resources (e.g., grants, tax reliefs, guarantees, preferential goods/services, etc.).
Selective advantage: Targets specific companies, sectors, or regions.
Distortion of competition: Has or could have an adverse impact on market competition.
Effect on trade: Likely to affect trade between EU Member States.

General measures (e.g., broad tax policies or employment laws) and subsidies to individuals are not classified as State aid.

When is State Aid Allowed?
Some State aid is allowed if it supports policy objectives like regional development, R&D, or environmental protection. These exemptions are outlined in EU State aid legislation.

Verifying State Aid
All new State aid measures must be notified to the European Commission for approval before implementation, except in specific cases, such as:

Aid covered by a Block Exemption.
De minimis aid (below €300,000 per undertaking over three fiscal years).
Aid granted under an aid scheme already authorised by the Commission.

Each notification triggers a preliminary investigation by the Commission. From the time it has received a completed notification, the Commission has two months to decide whether:

there is no aid within the meaning of the EU rules;
the aid is compatible with EU rules; or
serious doubts remain as to the compatibility of the notified measure with EU State aid rules, prompting an in-depth investigation.

Unapproved aid measures may be declared incompatible, and the Member State may be required to recover the aid. The Commission also has the power to require a Member State to recover incompatible State aid.

Sector Inquiries
Since 2015, the Commission can conduct State aid sector inquiries to investigate potential competition distortions in specific industries or across multiple Member States.

Complaints
Companies and consumers in the European Union may trigger investigations by lodging complaints with the Commission. The complaint form can be downloaded here.

Transparency
The State Aid Transparency Public Search Tool provides detailed information on individual State aid awards, promoting accountability and market fairness.

State Aid Scoreboard
The State aid transparency public search gives access to State aid individual award data provided by Member States in compliance with the European transparency requirements for State aid. Citizens and companies can easily access information about awarded aid: name of the beneficiary, amount, location, sector and objective. The purpose of the transparency requirements is to promote accountability of granting authorities and to reduce asymmetries on the market for state aid.

State Aid Scoreboard
Under Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EC) 794/2004, the European Commission must publish, annually, a State aid synopsis ("State aid Scoreboard" or “Scoreboard”) based on the expenditure reports provided by Member States.
The Scoreboard is the European Commission’s benchmarking instrument for State aid. It was launched in July 2001 to provide a transparent and publicly accessible source of information on the overall State aid situation in the Member States and on the Commission's State aid control activities.
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