Press Release: State aid: Commission adopts new state aid Framework for Research, Development and Innovation

The European Commission has adopted a new Framework to clarify to Member States how best they can give state aid to not only research and development but also innovation projects, without infringing EC Treaty state aid rules. This new Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) Framework will help Member States wishing to use state aid as a complementary instrument to boost Research, Development and Innovation. The Framework sets out a series of guidelines for specific types of state aid measures – such as aid for R&D projects, aid to young innovative enterprises and aid to innovation clusters – that could encourage additional R&D&I investments by private firms, thus stimulating growth and employment and improving Europe’s competitiveness. These guidelines allow individual Member States to tailor aid measures to particular situations, subject to the overall test that the aid must address a defined market failure, must be well designed and that the identified benefits must outweigh the distortions to competition resulting from the aid. The new Framework is due to apply from 1st January 2007.

European Commission: DG Communication: MEMO/06/441 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/441&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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