de minimis aid

Member States may grant de minimis aid in any way they like.

As a result of the economic crisis, most Mediterranean countries will be unable to use de minimis aid.

The main idea is to double the national threshold for de minimis aid to the sector.

Draft regulation on de minimis aid in agriculture and fisheries 569.

In this context, the extension of the de minimis aid rules to the inland navigation sector could also be considered.

Money from notified and approved schemes does not have to be cumulated with de minimis aid.

Aid is considered to be de minimis aid and therefore exempt from the notification requirement where it involves a small sum.

Such a system therefore carries a risk of exceeding the ceiling on de minimis aid per applicant, an outcome prohibited by the Commission.

De minimis aid is aid that the Member States may grant to their businesses if they believe it will not distort competition.

It has therefore ordered the recovery of all the aid already paid which is in excess of the ceiling for de minimis aid.

On 23 December, the Commission adopted a draft regulation concerning de minimis aid for the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Monitoring Any Member State who grants de minimis aid must strictly monitor the aid granted.

When the regulation introducing de minimis aid was adopted in 2007, it was thought that it would not affect trade or distort competition.

Transparent aid In order to prevent any abuse, the Regulation applies only to transparent de minimis aid.

I take a positive view of the proposal to increase the threshold for de minimis aid, which will eliminate bureaucracy and above all benefit SMEs.

Even supposing that it does constitute an aid, it cannot be ruled out that it should be considered a de minimis aid.

Where it constitutes State aid, it may be compatible under the rules governing aid to small and medium-sized enterprises, regional aid or de minimis aid.

In addition, the threshold under which Member States may grant de minimis aid without further specific requirements will be increased to take account of the evolution of the economy.

Their plea for short-term aid has fallen on deaf ears, even though it lies within the power of the local minister to pay de minimis aid under state rules.

MEPs furthermore call on the Member States to speed up procedures to enable the payment of aid on de minimis aid in the fisheries sector.

To do so, we call on the European Commission to raise the threshold of de minimis aid that can be granted to them to help them cope with this crisis.

In this regard, the group exemption regulations, which are currently being prepared for aid to SMEs - training aid and de minimis aid - should be mentioned.

As an elected representative from a port town, I strongly support my fellow Members in demanding that the Commission authorise an increase in the de minimis aid ceilings.

Any restrictions on the simultaneous granting in respect of one and the same project of de minimis aid and other notified aid authorized by the Commission are abolished.

However, where a Member State has set up a central register of de minimis aid for the fisheries sector containing all the requested information, the above conditions shall no longer apply.