New rules on state aid

Almunia seeks to modernise state-aid system.

Changes aimed at speeding up the way that the European Commission rules on state-aid cases will be proposed by Joaquín Almunia, the European commissioner for competition, on Wednesday (5 December).

One proposal would declare certain new categories of aid – such as funding for culture and innovation or in case of natural disasters – exempt from mandatory notification to the Commission.

A second proposal would change rules on the handling of complaints about state aid.

Almunia’s plans form part of his efforts to modernise the state-aid system. The Commission said that the proposed changes would allow it to “focus its enforcement on what matters most”.