Press Release: State aid: Commission consults on draft Best Practices Code on state aid proceedings

The European Commission launched a public consultation on a draft Best Practice Code on the conduct of state aid control proceedings. The Code will provide, after consultation with Member States in January, guidance on the day-to-day conduct of state aid proceedings. It aims to improve the effectiveness, transparency and predictability of the procedures at each step of the investigation, thereby fostering co-operation between the Commission and Member States. In particular, it proposes increased pre-notification contacts, mutually agreed planning for the most difficult cases and a stricter enforcement of existing procedural rules. This is in line with the objective announced in the State Aid Action Plan (2005) which called for more effective, simple and predictable procedures in the field of State aid. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the draft by 28 January 2009.