Dies ist eine HTML Version eines Anhanges der Informationsfreiheitsanfrage 'Undertaking in Difficulty'.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 1
This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability 
for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official 
Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links 
embedded in this document 
►B COMMISSION 
REGULATION 
(EU) 
No 
651/2014 
of 17 June 2014 
declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of 
Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
(OJ L 187, 26.6.2014, p. 1) 
Amended by: 
Official Journal 
No page date 
M1 Commission 
Regulation 
(EU) 
2017/1084 
of 
14 
June 
2017 L 
156 
1 20.6.2017 
Corrected by: 
C1 Corrigendum, 
OJ 

26, 
31.1.2018, 
p. 
53 
(2017/1084) 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 2 
▼B
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 651/2014 
of 17 June 2014 
declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal 
market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
CHAPTER I: 
Common provisions 
CHAPTER II: 
Monitoring 
CHAPTER III: 
Specific provisions for different categories of aid 
Section 1 — 
Regional aid 
Section 2 — 
Aid to SMEs 
Section 3 — 
Aid for access to finance for SMEs 
Section 4 — 
Aid for research and development and innovation 
Section 5 — 
Training aid 
Section 6 — 
Aid for disadvantaged workers and for workers with 
disabilities 
Section 7 — 
Aid for environmental protection 
Section 8 — 
Aid  to  make  good  the  damage  caused  by  certain 
natural disasters 
Section 9 — 
Social aid for transport for residents of remote regions 
Section 10 — 
Aid for broadband infrastructures 
Section 11 — 
Aid for culture and heritage conservation 
Section 12 — 
Aid  for  sport  and  multifunctional  recreational  infra­
structures 
Section 13 — 
Aid for local infrastructures 
Section 14 — 
Aid for regional airports 
Section 15 — 
Aid for ports 
CHAPTER IV: 
Final Provisions 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 3 
▼  
B
CHAPTER I 
COMMON PROVISIONS 
Article 1 
Scope 
1. This 
Regulation 
shall 
apply 
to 
the 
following 
categories 
of 
aid: 
(a) regional aid; 
(b)  aid to SMEs in the form of investment aid, operating aid and 
SMEs' access to finance; 
(c) aid for environmental protection; 
(d)  aid for research and development and innovation; 
(e) training aid; 
(f) recruitment and employment aid for disadvantaged workers and 
workers with disabilities; 
(g) aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural disasters; 
(h)  social aid for transport for residents of remote regions; 
(i) aid 
for 
broadband infrastructures; 
(j) aid 
for 
culture 
and 
heritage 
conservation; 
▼M1 
(k) aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructure; 
(l) aid 
for 
local 
infrastructures; 
(m) aid for regional airports; and 
(n) aid for ports. 
▼B 
2. This 
Regulation 
shall 
not 
apply 
to: 
(a)  schemes under Sections 1 (with the exception of Article 15), 2, 3, 4, 
7 (with the exception of Article 44), and 10 of Chapter III of this 
Regulation, if the average annual State aid budget exceeds EUR 150 
million, from six months after their entry into force. The 
Commission may decide that this Regulation shall continue to 
apply for a longer period to any of these aid schemes after 
having assessed the relevant evaluation plan notified by the 
Member State to the Commission, within 20 working days from 
the scheme's entry into force; 
(b) any alterations of schemes referred to in Article 1(2)(a), other than 
modifications which cannot affect the compatibility of the aid 
scheme under this Regulation or cannot significantly affect the 
content of the approved evaluation plan; 
(c) aid to export-related activities towards third countries or Member 
States, namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the 
establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other 
current costs linked to the export activity; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 4 
▼  
B
(d) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods. 
3. 
►M1 This Regulation shall not apply to: 
(a) aid granted in the fishery and aquaculture sector, as covered by 
Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council ( 1 ) with the exception of training aid, aid for 
SMEs' access to finance, aid in the field of research and devel­
opment, innovation aid for SMEs, aid for disadvantaged workers 
and workers with disabilities, regional investment aid in outermost 
regions and regional operating aid schemes; 
(b) aid granted in the primary agricultural production sector, with the 
exception of regional investment aid in outermost regions, regional 
operating aid schemes, aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs, risk 
finance aid, aid for research and development, innovation aid for 
SMEs, environmental aid, training aid and aid for disadvantaged 
workers and workers with disabilities; 
(c)  aid granted in the sector of processing and marketing of agricultural 
products, in the following cases: 
(i)  where the amount of the aid is fixed on the basis of the price or 
quantity of such products purchased from primary producers or 
put on the market by the undertakings concerned; 
(ii) where the aid is conditional on being partly or entirely passed 
on to primary producers; 
(d)  aid to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines, as covered 
by Council Decision 2010/787/EU ( 2 ); 
(e)  the categories of regional aid referred to in Article 13. ◄ 
Where an undertaking is active in the excluded sectors as referred to in 
points (a), (b) or (c) of the first subparagraph and in sectors which fall 
within the scope of this Regulation, this Regulation applies to aid 
granted in respect of the latter sectors or activities, provided that 
Member States ensure by appropriate means, such as separation of 
activities or distinction of costs, that the activities in the excluded 
sectors do not benefit from the aid granted in accordance with this 
Regulation. 
( 1 ) Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 11 December 2013 on the common organisation of the markets 
in fishery and aquaculture products, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 
1184/2006 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 
No 104/2000 (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 1). 
( 2 ) Council Decision 2010/787/EU of 10 December 2010 on State aid to 
facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines (OJ L 336, 21.12.2010, 
p. 24).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 5 
▼B
4. This 
Regulation 
shall 
not 
apply 
to: 
▼M1 
(a) aid schemes which do not explicitly exclude the payment of indi­
vidual aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an 
outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission 
decision declaring an aid granted by the same Member State 
illegal and incompatible with the internal market, with the 
exception of aid schemes to make good the damage caused by 
certain natural disasters; 
▼B 
(b) ad hoc aid in favour of an undertaking as referred to in point (a); 
▼M1 
(c)  aid to undertakings in difficulty, with the exception of aid schemes 
to make good the damage caused by certain natural disasters, start- 
up aid schemes and regional operating aid schemes, provided those 
schemes do not treat undertakings in difficulty more favourably than 
other undertakings. 
▼B 
5. This 
Regulation 
shall 
not 
apply 
to 
State 
aid 
measures, 
which 
entail, by themselves, by the conditions attached to them or by their 
financing method a non-severable violation of Union law, in particular: 
(a)  aid measures where the grant of aid is subject to the obligation for 
the beneficiary to have its headquarters in the relevant Member 
State or to be predominantly established in that Member State; 
However, the requirement to have an establishment or branch in 
the aid granting Member State at the moment of payment of the 
aid is allowed. 
(b) aid measures where the grant of aid is subject to the obligation for 
the beneficiary to use nationally produced goods or national 
services; 
(c) aid measures restricting the possibility for the beneficiaries to 
exploit the research, development and innovation results in other 
Member States. 
Article 2 
Definitions 
For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall 
apply: 
(1)  ‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in 
Article 107(1) of the Treaty; 
(2) ‘small 
and 
medium-sized 
enterprises’ 
or 
‘SMEs’ 
means 
under­
takings fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I; 
(3) ‘worker 
with 
disabilities’ 
means 
any 
person 
who: 
(a)  is recognised as worker with disabilities under national law; 
or 
(b) has long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impair­
ment(s) which, in interaction with various barriers, may 
hinder their full and effective participation in a work envi­
ronment on an equal basis with other workers; 
(4) ‘disadvantaged 
worker’ 
means 
any 
person 
who: 
(a) has not been in regular paid employment for the previous 6 
  months; or 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 6 
▼  
B
(b) is between 15 and 24 years of age; or 
(c) has not attained an upper secondary educational or vocational 
qualification (International Standard Classification of 
Education 3) or is within two years after completing full- 
time education and who has not previously obtained his or 
her first regular paid employment; or 
(d) is over the age of 50 years; or 
(e)  lives as a single adult with one or more dependents; or 
(f)  works in a sector or profession in a Member State where the 
gender imbalance is at least 25 % higher than the average 
gender imbalance across all economic sectors in that 
Member State, and belongs to that underrepresented gender 
group; or 
(g)  is a member of an ethnic minority within a Member State and 
who requires development of his or her linguistic, vocational 
training or work experience profile to enhance prospects of 
gaining access to stable employment; 
(5) ‘transport’ 
means 
transport 
of 
passengers 
by 
aircraft, 
maritime 
transport, road, rail, or by inland waterway or freight transport 
services for hire or reward; 
(6)  ‘transport costs’ means the costs of transport for hire or reward 
actually paid by the beneficiaries per journey, comprising: 
(a) freight charges, handling costs and temporary stocking costs, 
in so far as these costs relate to the journey; 
(b) insurance costs applied to the cargo; 
(c) taxes, duties or levies applied to the cargo and, if applicable, 
to the deadweight, both at point of origin and point of desti­
nation; and 
(d)  safety and security control costs, surcharges for increased fuel 
costs; 
(7) ‘remote 
regions’ 
means 
outermost 
regions, 
Malta, 
Cyprus, 
Ceuta 
and Melilla, islands which are part of the territory of a Member 
State and sparsely populated areas; 
(8) ‘marketing 
of 
agricultural 
products’ 
means 
holding 
or 
display 
with a view to sale, offering for sale, delivery or any other 
manner of placing on the market, except the first sale by a 
primary producer to resellers or processors and any activity 
preparing a product for such first sale; a sale by a primary 
producer to final consumers shall be considered to be 
marketing if it takes place in separate premises reserved for 
that purpose; 
(9) ‘primary 
agricultural 
production’ 
means 
production 
of 
products 
of 
the soil and of stock farming, listed in Annex I to the Treaty, 
without performing any further operation changing the nature of 
such products; 
(10) ‘processing 
of 
agricultural 
products’ 
means 
any 
operation 
on 
an 
agricultural product resulting in a product which is also an agri­
cultural product, except on-farm activities necessary for preparing 
an animal or plant product for the first sale; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 7 
▼  
B
(11)  ‘agricultural product’ means the products listed in Annex I to the 
Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex I 
to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 11 December 2013; 
(12) ‘outermost regions’ means regions as defined in Article 349 of 
the Treaty. In accordance with European Council Decision 
2010/718/EU, from 1 January 2012, Saint-Barthélemy ceased to 
be an outermost region. In accordance with European Council 
Decision 2012/419/EU on 1 January 2014, Mayotte became an 
outermost region; 
(13) ‘coal’ means high-grade, medium-grade and low-grade category 
A and B coal within the meaning of the international codification 
system for coal established by the United Nations Economic 
Commission for Europe and clarified in the Council decision of 
10 December 2010 on State aid to facilitate the closure of uncom­
petitive coal mines ( 1 ); 
(14) ‘individual 
aid’ 
means: 
(i) ad hoc aid; and 
(ii) awards of aid to individual beneficiaries on the basis of an 
aid scheme; 
(15) ‘aid 
scheme’ 
means 
any 
act 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
which, 
without 
further 
implementing measures being required, individual aid awards 
may be made to undertakings defined within the act in a 
general and abstract manner and any act on the basis of which 
aid which is not linked to a specific project may be granted to 
one or several undertakings for an indefinite period of time and/or 
for an indefinite amount; 
(16) ‘evaluation plan’ means a document containing at least the 
following minimum elements: the objectives of the aid scheme 
to be evaluated, the evaluation questions, the result indicators, the 
envisaged methodology to conduct the evaluation, the data 
collection requirements, the proposed timing of the evaluation 
including the date of submission of the final evaluation report, 
the description of the independent body conducting the evaluation 
or the criteria that will be used for its selection and the modalities 
for ensuring the publicity of the evaluation; 
(17)  ‘ad hoc aid’ means aid not granted on the basis of an aid scheme; 
(18)  ‘undertaking in difficulty’ means an undertaking in respect of 
which at least one of the following circumstances occurs: 
(a) In the case of a limited liability company (other than an SME 
that has been in existence for less than three years or, for the 
purposes of eligibility for risk finance aid, an SME within 7 
years from its first commercial sale that qualifies for risk 
finance investments following due diligence by the selected 
financial intermediary), where more than half of its subscribed 
share capital has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses. 
This is the case when deduction of accumulated losses from 
( 1 ) OJ L 336, 21.12.2010, p. 24.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 8 
▼B 
reserves (and all other elements generally considered as part of 
the own funds of the company) leads to a negative cumulative 
amount that exceeds half of the subscribed share capital. For the 
purposes of this provision, ‘limited liability company’ refers in 
particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex I of 
Directive 2013/34/EU ( 1 ) and ‘share capital’ includes, where 
relevant, any share premium. 
(b)  In the case of a company where at least some members have 
unlimited liability for the debt of the company (other than an 
SME that has been in existence for less than three years or, 
for the purposes of eligibility for risk finance aid, an SME 
within 7 years from its first commercial sale that qualifies for 
risk finance investments following due diligence by the 
selected financial intermediary), where more than half of its 
capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared as 
a result of accumulated losses. For the purposes of this 
provision, ‘a company where at least some members have 
unlimited liability for the debt of the company’ refers in 
particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex II 
of Directive 2013/34/EU. 
(c) Where the undertaking is subject to collective insolvency 
proceedings or fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for 
being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the 
request of its creditors. 
(d) Where the undertaking has received rescue aid and has not 
yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee, or has 
received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring 
plan. 
(e)  In the case of an undertaking that is not an SME, where, for 
the past two years: 
(1) the  undertaking's  book  debt  to  equity  ratio  has  been 
greater than 7,5 and 
(2) the  undertaking's  EBITDA  interest coverage  ratio  has 
been below 1,0. 
(19) ‘territorial spending obligations’: mean the obligations imposed 
by the authority granting the aid on beneficiaries to spend a 
minimum amount and/or conduct a minimum level of production 
activity in a particular territory; 
(20)  ‘adjusted aid amount’ means the maximum permissible aid 
amount for a large investment project, calculated according to 
the following formula: 
maximum aid amount = R × (A + 0,50 × B + 0 × C) 
where: R is the maximum aid intensity applicable in the area 
concerned established in an approved regional map and which 
is in force on the date of granting the aid, excluding the increased 
aid intensity for SMEs; A is the initial EUR 50 million of eligible 
costs, B is the part of eligible costs between EUR 50 million and 
EUR 100 million and C is the part of eligible costs above EUR 
100 million 
( 1 ) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial 
statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending 
Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and 
repealing Council Directives   78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 9 
▼B
(21) ‘repayable 
advance’ 
means 

loan 
for 

project 
which 
is 
paid 
in 
one or more instalments and the conditions for the reimbursement 
of which depend on the outcome of the project; 
(22)  ‘gross grant equivalent’ means the amount of the aid if it had 
been provided in the form of a grant to the beneficiary, before 
any deduction of tax or other charge; 
(23)  ‘start of works’ means the earlier of either the start of 
construction works relating to the investment, or the first 
legally binding commitment to order equipment or any other 
commitment that makes the investment irreversible. Buying 
land and preparatory works such as obtaining permits and 
conducting feasibility studies are not considered start of works. 
For take-overs, ‘start of works’ means the moment of acquiring 
the assets directly linked to the acquired establishment; 
(24) ‘large enterprises’ means undertakings not fulfilling the criteria 
laid down in Annex I; 
(25) ‘fiscal successor scheme’ means a scheme in the form of tax 
advantages which constitutes an amended version of a previously 
existing scheme in the form of tax advantages and which replaces 
it. 
(26)  ‘aid intensity’ means the gross aid amount expressed as a 
percentage of the eligible costs, before any deduction of tax or 
other charge; 
(27) ‘assisted 
areas’ 
means 
areas 
designated in 
an approved regional 
aid map for the period 1.7.2014 - 31.12.2020 in application of 
Articles 107(3)(a) and (c) of the Treaty; 
(28)  ‘date of granting of the aid’ means the date when the legal right 
to receive the aid is conferred on the beneficiary under the 
applicable national legal regime; 
(29) ‘tangible assets’ means assets consisting of land, buildings and 
plant, machinery and equipment; 
(30) ‘intangible assets’ means assets that do not have a physical or 
financial embodiment such as patents, licences, know-how or 
other intellectual property; 
(31) ‘wage 
cost’ 
means 
the 
total 
amount 
actually 
payable 
by 
the 
ben­
eficiary of the aid in respect of the employment concerned, 
comprising over a defined period of time the gross wage before 
tax and compulsory contributions such as social security, child 
care and parent care costs; 
(32)  ‘net increase in the number of employees’ means a net increase in 
the number of employees in the establishment concerned 
compared with the average over a given period in time, and 
that any posts lost during that period must therefore be 
deducted and that the number of persons employed full-time, 
part-time and seasonal has to be considered with their annual 
labour unit fractions; 
(33) ‘dedicated 
infrastructure’ 
means 
infrastructure 
that 
is 
built 
for ex- 
ante identifiable undertaking(s) and tailored 
 
to their needs. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 10 
▼  
B
(34)  ‘financial intermediary’ means any financial institution regardless 
of its form and ownership, including fund-of-funds, private equity 
investment funds, public investment funds, banks, micro-finance 
institutions and guarantee societies; 
(35)  ‘journey’ means the movement of goods from the point of origin 
to the point of destination, including any intermediary sections or 
stages within or outside the Member State concerned, made using 
one or more means of transport; 
(36)  ‘fair rate of return (FRR)’ means the expected rate of return 
equivalent to a risk-adjusted discount rate which reflects the 
level of risk of a project and the nature and level of capital the 
private investors plan to invest; 
(37) ‘total 
financing’ 
means 
the 
overall 
investment 
amount 
made 
into 
an eligible undertaking or project under Section 3 or under 
Articles 16 or 39 of this Regulation to the exclusion of entirely 
private investments provided on market terms and outside the 
scope of the relevant State aid measure; 
(38) ‘competitive bidding process’ means a non-discriminatory 
bidding process that provides for the participation of a sufficient 
number of undertakings and where the aid is granted on the basis 
of either the initial bid submitted by the bidder or a clearing 
price. In addition, the budget or volume related to the bidding 
process is a binding constraint leading to a situation where not all 
bidders can receive aid; 
▼M1 
(39)  ‘operating profit’ means the difference between the discounted 
revenues and the discounted operating costs over the economic 
lifetime of the investment, where this difference is positive. The 
operating costs include costs such as personnel costs, materials, 
contracted services, communications, energy, maintenance, rent, 
administration, but exclude depreciation charges and the costs of 
financing if these have been covered by investment aid. 
Discounting revenues and operating costs using an appropriate 
discount rate allows a reasonable profit to be made. 
▼B 
Definitions applying to regional aid 
(40) Definitions 
applying 
to 
aid 
for 
broadband 
infrastructures 
(Section 
10) are applicable to the relevant regional aid provisions. 
(41) ‘regional 
investment 
aid’ 
means 
regional 
aid 
granted 
for 
an 
initial 
investment or an initial investment in favour of a new economic 
activity; 
▼M1 
(42) ‘regional operating aid’ means aid to reduce an undertaking's 
current expenditure. This includes cost categories such as 
personnel costs, materials, contracted services, communications, 
energy, maintenance, rent, administration, but excludes 
depreciation charges and the costs of financing if these have 
been included in the eligible costs when granting investment aid; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 11 
▼  
B
(43) ‘steel 
sector’ 
means 
all 
activities 
related 
to 
the 
production 
of 
one 
or more of the following products: 
(a) pig iron and ferro-alloys: 
pig iron for steelmaking, foundry and other pig iron, spiege­
leisen and high-carbon ferro-manganese, not including other 
ferro-alloys; 
(b) crude and semi-finished products of iron, ordinary steel or 
special steel: 
liquid steel whether or not cast into ingots, including ingots 
for forging semi- finished products: blooms, billets and slabs; 
sheet bars and tinplate bars; hot-rolled wide coils, with the 
exception of production of liquid steel for castings from small 
and medium-sized foundries; 
(c)  hot finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel: 
rails, sleepers, fishplates, soleplates, joists, heavy sections of 
80 mm and over, sheet piling, bars and sections of less than 
80 mm and flats of less than 150 mm, wire rod, tube rounds 
and squares, hot-rolled hoop and strip (including tube strip), 
hot-rolled sheet (coated or uncoated), plates and sheets of 3 
mm thickness and over, universal plates of 150 mm and 
over, with the exception of wire and wire products, bright 
bars and iron castings; 
(d) cold finished products: 
tinplate, terneplate, blackplate, galvanised sheets, other coated 
sheets, cold-rolled sheets, electrical sheets and strip for 
tinplate, cold-rolled plate, in coil and in strip; 
(e) tubes: 
all seamless steel tubes, welded steel tubes with a diameter of 
over 406.4 mm; 
(44) ‘synthetic 
fibres 
sector’ 
means: 
(a) extrusion/texturisation of all generic types of fibre and yarn 
based on polyester, polyamide, acrylic or polypropylene, irre­
spective of their end-uses; or 
(b) polymerisation (including polycondensation) where it is inte­
grated with extrusion in terms of the machinery used; or 
(c) any ancillary process linked to the contemporaneous instal­
lation of extrusion/texturisation capacity by the prospective 
beneficiary or by another company in the group to which it 
belongs and which, in the specific business activity 
concerned, is normally integrated with such capacity in 
terms of the machinery used; 
(45) ‘transport sector’ means the transport of passengers by aircraft, 
maritime transport, road or rail and by inland waterway or freight 
transport services for hire or reward; more specifically, the 
‘transport sector’ means the following activities in terms of 
NACE Rev. 2: 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 12 
▼  
B
(a) NACE  49:  Land  transport  and  transport  via  pipelines, 
excluding NACE 49.32 Taxi operation, 49.42 Removal 
services, 49.5 Transport via pipeline; 
(b) NACE 50: Water transport; 
(c) NACE  51:  Air  transport,  excluding  NACE  51.22  Space 
transport. 
(46) ‘scheme targeted at a limited number of specific sectors of 
economic activity’ means a scheme which covers activities falling 
within the scope of less than five classes (four-digit numerical 
code) of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification. 
(47) ‘tourism activity’ means the following activities in terms of 
NACE Rev. 2: 
(a) NACE 55:Accommodation; 
(b) NACE 56: Food and beverage service activities; 
(c) NACE 79: Travel agency, tour operator reservation service 
and related activities; 
(d) NACE 90: Creative, arts and entertainment activities; 
(e) NACE 91: Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural 
activities; 
(f) NACE 93: Sports activities and amusement and recreation 
activities; 
▼M1 
(48) ‘sparsely 
populated 
areas’ 
means 
NUTS 

regions 
with 
less 
than 
8 inhabitants per km2 
  or NUTS 3 regions with less than 12,5 
inhabitants per km2 
 
or areas which are recognized by the 
Commission as such in an individual decision on a regional aid 
map in force at the time the aid is granted; 
(48a) ‘very sparsely populated areas’ means NUTS 2 regions with less 
than 8 inhabitants per km2 
  or areas which are recognized by the 
Commission as such in an individual decision on a regional aid 
map in force at the time the aid is granted; 
▼B 
(49) ‘initial 
investment’ 
means: 
(a)  an investment in tangible and intangible assets related to the 
setting-up of a new establishment, extension of the capacity 
of an existing establishment, diversification of the output of 
an establishment into products not previously produced in the 
establishment or a fundamental change in the overall 
production process of an existing establishment; or 
(b) an acquisition of assets belonging to an establishment that has 
closed or would have closed had it not been purchased, and 
is bought by an investor unrelated to the seller and excludes 
sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking; 
(50) ‘the 
same 
or 

similar 
activity’ 
means 
an 
activity 
falling 
under 
the 
same class (four-digit numerical code) of the NACE Rev. 2 stat­
istical classification of economic activities as laid down in Regu­
lation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 13 
▼  
B
Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classifi­
cation of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC 
Regulations on specific statistical domains ( 1 ); 
(51)  ‘initial investment in favour of new economic activity’ means: 
(a)  an investment in tangible and intangible assets related to the 
setting up of a new establishment, or to the diversification of 
the activity of an establishment, under the condition that the 
new activity is not the same or a similar activity to the 
activity previously performed in the establishment; 
(b) the acquisition of the assets belonging to an establishment 
that has closed or would have closed had it not been 
purchased, and is bought by an investor unrelated to the 
seller, under the condition that the new activity to be 
performed using the acquired assets is not the same or a 
similar activity to the activity performed in the establishment 
prior to the acquisition; 
(52) ‘large investment project’ means an initial investment with 
eligible costs exceeding EUR 50 million, calculated at prices 
and exchange rates on the date of granting the aid; 
(53)  ‘point of destination’ means the place where the goods are 
unloaded; 
(54)  ‘point of origin’ means the place where the goods are loaded for 
transport; 
▼M1 
(55) ‘areas eligible for operating aid’ means an outermost region 
referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty, a sparsely populated 
area or a very sparsely populated area; 
▼B 
(56) ‘means 
of 
transport’ 
means 
rail 
transport, 
road 
freight 
transport, 
inland waterway transport, maritime transport, air transport, and 
intermodal transport; 
(57) ‘urban development fund’ (‘UDF’) means a specialised 
investment vehicle set up for the purpose of investing in urban 
development projects under an urban development aid measure. 
UDFs are managed by an urban development fund manager; 
(58) ‘urban development fund manager’ means a professional 
management company with legal personality, selecting and 
making investments in eligible urban development projects; 
(59)  ‘urban development project’ (‘UDP’) means an investment 
project that has the potential to support the implementation of 
interventions envisaged by an integrated approach to sustainable 
urban development and contribute to achieving of the objectives 
defined therein, including projects with an internal rate of return 
which may not be sufficient to attract financing on a purely 
commercial basis. An urban development project may be 
organised as a separate block of finance within the legal 
structures of the beneficiary private investor or as a separate 
legal entity, e.g. a special purpose vehicle; 
( 1 ) OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 14 
▼B
(60) ‘integrated sustainable urban development strategy’ means a 
strategy officially proposed and certified by a relevant local 
authority or public sector agency, defined for a specific urban 
geographic area and period, that set out integrated actions to 
tackle the economic, environmental, climate, demographic and 
social challenges affecting urban areas; 
(61)  ‘in-kind contribution’ means the contribution of land or real 
estate where the land or real estate forms part of the urban devel­
opment project; 
▼M1 
(61a) ‘relocation’ means a transfer of the same or similar activity or 
part thereof from an establishment in one contracting party to the 
EEA Agreement (initial establishment) to the establishment in 
which the aided investment takes place in another contracting 
party to the EEA Agreement (aided establishment). There is a 
transfer if the product or service in the initial and in the aided 
establishments serves at least partly the same purposes and meets 
the demands or needs of the same type of customers and jobs are 
lost in the same or similar activity in one of the initial estab­
lishments of the beneficiary in the EEA; 
▼B 
Definitions for Aid to SMEs 
(62) ‘employment directly created by an investment project’ means 
employment concerning the activity to which the investment 
relates, including employment created following an increase in 
the utilisation rate of the capacity created by the investment; 
(63) ‘organisational cooperation’ means the development of joint 
business strategies or management structures, the provision of 
common services or services to facilitate cooperation, coordinated 
activities such as research or marketing, the support of networks 
and clusters, the improvement of accessibility and communi­
cation, the use of joint instruments to encourage entrepreneurship 
and trade with SMEs; 
(64) ‘advisory services linked to cooperation’ means consulting, 
assistance and training for the exchange of knowledge and 
experiences and for improvement of cooperation; 
(65) ‘support services linked to cooperation’ means the provision of 
office space, websites, data banks, libraries, market research, 
handbooks, working and model documents; 
Definitions for Aid for access to finance for SMEs 
(66) ‘quasi-equity investment’ means a type of financing that ranks 
between equity and debt, having a higher risk than senior debt 
and a lower risk than common equity and whose return for the 
holder is 
 
predominantly based on the profits or losses of the 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 15 
▼  
B
underlying target undertaking and which are unsecured in the 
event of default. Quasi-equity investments can be structured as 
debt, unsecured and subordinated, including mezzanine debt, and 
in some cases convertible into equity, or as preferred equity; 
(67)  ‘guarantee’ in the context of sections 1, 3 and 7 of the Regulation 
means a written commitment to assume responsibility for all or 
part of a third party's newly originated loan transactions such as 
debt or lease instruments, as well as quasi-equity instruments.; 
(68) ‘guarantee rate’ means the percentage of loss coverage by a 
public investor of each and every transaction eligible under the 
relevant State aid measure; 
(69) ‘exit’ means the liquidation of holdings by a financial inter­
mediary or investor, including trade sale, write-offs, repayment 
of shares/loans, sale to another financial intermediary or another 
investor, sale to a financial institution and sale by public offering, 
including an initial public offering (IPO); 
(70) ‘financial 
endowment’ 
means 

repayable 
public 
investment 
made 
to a financial intermediary for the purposes of making 
investments under a risk finance measure, and where all the 
proceeds shall be returned to the public investor; 
(71) ‘risk finance investment’ means equity and quasi-equity invest­
ments, loans including leases, guarantees, or a mix thereof to 
eligible undertakings for the purposes of making new invest­
ments; 
(72)  ‘independent private investor’ means a private investor who is not 
a shareholder of the eligible undertaking in which it invests, 
including business angels and financial institutions, irrespective 
of their ownership, to the extent that they bear the full risk in 
respect of their investment. Upon the creation of a new company, 
private investors, including the founders, are considered to be 
independent from that company; 
(73) ‘natural 
person’ 
for 
the 
purpose of 
Articles 
21 and 23 means a 
person other than a legal entity who is not an undertaking for the 
purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty; 
(74) ‘equity investment’ means the provision of capital 
to an under­
taking, invested directly or indirectly in return for the ownership 
of a corresponding share of that undertaking; 
(75)  ‘first commercial sale’ means the first sale by a company on a 
product or service market, excluding limited sales to test the 
market; 
(76) ‘unlisted 
SME’ 
means 
an 
SME 
which 
is 
not 
listed 
on 
the 
official 
list of a stock exchange, except for alternative trading platforms. 
(77) ‘follow-on 
investment’ 
means 
additional 
risk 
finance 
investment 
in a company subsequent to one or more previous risk finance 
investment rounds; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 16 
▼  
B
(78) ‘replacement 
capital’ 
means 
the 
purchase 
of 
existing 
shares 
in 

company from an earlier investor or shareholder; 
(79) ‘entrusted 
entity’ 
means 
the 
European Investment 
Bank and the 
European Investment Fund, an international financial institution 
in which a Member State is a shareholder, or a financial insti­
tution established in a Member State aiming at the achievement 
of public interest under the control of a public authority, a public 
law body, or a private law body with a public service mission: 
the entrusted entity can be selected or directly appointed in 
accordance with the provisions of Directive 2004/18/EC on the 
coordination of procedures for the award of public works 
contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts, ( 1 ) 
or any subsequent legislation replacing that Directive in full or in 
part; 
(80) ‘innovative 
enterprise’ 
means 
an 
enterprise: 
(a) that can demonstrate, by means of an evaluation carried out 
by an external expert that it will in the foreseeable future 
develop products, services or processes which are new or 
substantially improved compared to the state of the art in 
its industry, and which carry a risk of technological or 
industrial failure, or 
(b) the research and development costs of which represent at 
least 10 % of its total operating costs in at least one of the 
three years preceding the granting of the aid or, in the case of 
a start-up enterprise without any financial history, in the audit 
of its current fiscal period, as certified by an external auditor; 
(81)  ‘alternative trading platform’ means a multilateral trading facility 
as defined in Article 4(1)(15) of Directive 2004/39/EC where the 
majority of the financial instruments admitted to trading are 
issued by SMEs; 
(82)  ‘loan’ means an agreement which obliges the lender to make 
available to the borrower an agreed amount of money for an 
agreed period of time and under which the borrower is obliged 
to repay the amount within the agreed period. It may take the 
form of a loan, or another funding instrument, including a lease, 
which provides the lender with a predominant component of 
minimum yield. The refinancing of existing loans shall not be 
an eligible loan. 
Definitions for Aid for research and development and inno­
vation
 
(83) ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’ means an 
entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology 
transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented 
physical or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its 
legal status (organised under public or private law) or way of 
financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct funda­
mental research, industrial research or experimental development 
or to widely disseminate the results of such activities by way of 
teaching, publication or knowledge transfer. Where such entity 
( 1 ) OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 17 
▼B
also pursues economic activities the financing, the costs and the 
revenues of those economic activities must be accounted for 
separately. Undertakings that can exert a decisive influence 
upon such an entity, in the quality of, for example, shareholders 
or members, may not enjoy preferential access to the results 
generated by it; 
(84) ‘fundamental research’ means experimental or theoretical work 
undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying 
foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any 
direct commercial application or use in view; 
(85) ‘industrial 
research’ 
means 
the 
planned 
research 
or 
critical 
inves­
tigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for 
developing new products, processes or services or for bringing 
about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or 
services. It comprises the creation of components parts of 
complex systems, and may include the construction of prototypes 
in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated 
interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, when 
necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic tech­
nology validation; 
(86) ‘experimental 
development’ 
means 
acquiring, 
combining, 
shaping 
and using existing scientific, technological, business and other 
relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new 
or improved products, processes or services. This may also 
include, for example, activities aiming at the conceptual defi­
nition, planning and documentation of new products, processes 
or services; 
Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demon­
strating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved 
products, processes or services in environments representative 
of real life operating conditions where the primary objective is 
to make further technical improvements on products, processes or 
services that are not substantially set. This may include the devel­
opment of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is 
necessarily the final commercial product and which is too 
expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration 
and validation purposes. 
Experimental development does not include routine or periodic 
changes made to existing products, production lines, manufac­
turing processes, services and other operations in progress, even 
if those changes may represent improvements; 
(87) ‘feasibility study’ means the evaluation and analysis of the 
potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of 
decision-making by objectively and rationally uncovering its 
strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as 
identifying the resources required to carry it through and ulti­
mately its prospects   
for success; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 18 
▼  
B
(88) ‘personnel 
costs’ 
means 
the 
costs 
of 
researchers, 
technicians 
and 
other supporting staff to the extent employed on the relevant 
project or activity; 
(89)  ‘arm's length’ means that the conditions of the transaction 
between the contracting parties do not differ from those which 
would be stipulated between independent enterprises and contain 
no element of collusion. Any transaction that results from an 
open, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure is considered 
as meeting the arm's length principle; 
(90) ‘effective 
collaboration’ 
means 
collaboration 
between 
at 
least 
two 
independent parties to exchange knowledge or technology, or to 
achieve a common objective based on the division of labour 
where the parties jointly define the scope of the collaborative 
project, contribute to its implementation and share its risks, as 
well as its results. One or several parties may bear the full costs 
of the project and thus relieve other parties of its financial risks. 
Contract research and provision of research services are not 
considered forms of collaboration. 
(91) ‘research infrastructure’ means facilities, resources and related 
services that are used by the scientific community to conduct 
research in their respective fields and covers scientific 
equipment or sets of instruments, knowledge-based resources 
such as collections, archives or structured scientific information, 
enabling information and communication technology-based infra­
structures such as grid, computing, software and communication, 
or any other entity of a unique nature essential to conduct 
research. Such infrastructures may be ‘single-sited’ or ‘dis­
tributed’ (an organised network of resources) in accordance 
with Article 2(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 of 
25 June 2009 on the Community legal framework for a 
European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) ( 1 ); 
(92) ‘innovation clusters’ means structures or organised groups of 
independent parties (such as innovative start-ups, small, 
medium and large enterprises, as well as research and 
knowledge dissemination organisations, non-for-profit organis­
ations and other related economic actors) designed to stimulate 
innovative activity through promotion, sharing of facilities and 
exchange of knowledge and expertise and by contributing effec­
tively to knowledge transfer, networking, information dissemi­
nation and collaboration among the undertakings and other organ­
isations in the cluster; 
(93) ‘highly qualified personnel’ means staff having a tertiary 
education degree and at least 5 years of relevant professional 
experience which may also include doctoral training; 
(94) ‘innovation 
advisory 
services’ 
means 
consultancy, 
assistance 
and 
training in the fields of knowledge transfer, acquisition, protection 
and exploitation of intangible assets, use of standards and regu­
lations embedding them; 
( 1 ) OJ L 206, 8.8.2009, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 19 
▼B
(95) ‘innovation 
support 
services’ 
means 
the 
provision 
of 
office 
space, 
data banks, libraries, market research, laboratories, quality 
labelling, testing and certification for the purpose of developing 
more effective products, processes or services; 
(96) ‘organisational innovation’ means the implementation of a new 
organisational method in an undertaking's business practices, 
workplace organisation or external relations, excluding changes 
that are based on organisational methods already in use in the 
undertaking, changes in management strategy, mergers and 
acquisitions, ceasing to use a process, simple capital replacement 
or extension, changes resulting purely from changes in factor 
prices, customisation, localisation, regular, seasonal and other 
cyclical changes and trading of new or significantly improved 
products; 
(97) ‘process innovation’ means the implementation of a new or 
significantly improved production or delivery method (including 
significant changes in techniques, equipment or software), 
excluding minor changes or improvements, increases in 
production or service capabilities through the addition of manu­
facturing or logistical systems which are very similar to those 
already in use, ceasing to use a process, simple capital replace­
ment or extension, changes resulting purely from changes in 
factor prices, customisation, localisation, regular, seasonal and 
other cyclical changes and trading of new or significantly 
improved products; 
(98) ‘secondment’ means temporary employment of staff by a ben­
eficiary with the right for the staff to return to the previous 
employer; 
Definitions for aid for disadvantaged workers and for 
workers with disabilities
 
(99) ‘severely 
disadvantaged 
worker’ 
means 
any 
person 
who: 
(a) has not been in regular paid employment for at least 24 
months; or 
(b) has not been in regular paid employment for at least 12 
months and belongs to one of the categories (b) to (g) 
mentioned under the definition of ‘disadvantaged worker’. 
(100) ‘sheltered employment’ means  employment  in  an undertaking 
where at least 30 % of workers are workers with disabilities; 
Definitions applying to aid for environmental protection 
(101) ‘environmental protection’ means any action designed to remedy 
or prevent damage to physical surroundings or natural resources 
by a beneficiary's own activities, to reduce risk of such damage 
or to lead to a more efficient use of natural resources, including 
energy-saving measures and the use of renewable sources of 
energy; 
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 20 
▼  
B
(102) ‘Union standard’ means: 
(a) a mandatory Union standard setting the levels to be attained 
in environmental terms by individual undertakings; or 
(b) the obligation under Directive 2010/75/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) to use the best available 
techniques (BAT) and ensure that emission levels of 
pollutants are not higher than they would be when applying 
BAT; for the cases where emission levels associated with the 
BAT have been defined in implementing acts adopted under 
Directive 2010/75/EU, those levels will be applicable for the 
purpose of this Regulation; where those levels are expressed 
as a range, the limit where the BAT is first achieved will be 
applicable; 
(103)  ‘energy efficiency’ means an amount of saved energy determined 
by measuring and/or estimating consumption before and after 
implementation of an energy-efficiency improvement measure, 
whilst ensuring normalisation for external conditions that affect 
energy consumption; 
(104) ‘energy  efficiency  project’  means  an  investment  project  that 
increases the energy efficiency of a building; 
(105) ‘energy efficiency fund (EEF)’ means a specialised investment 
vehicle set up for the purpose of investing in energy efficiency 
projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings in 
both the domestic and non-domestic sectors. EEFs are managed 
by an energy efficiency fund manager; 
(106) ‘energy  efficiency  fund  manager’  means  a  professional 
management company with a legal personality, selecting and 
making investments in eligible energy efficiency projects; 
(107) ‘high-efficiency cogeneration’ means cogeneration which satisfies 
the definition of high efficiency cogeneration as set out in 
Article 2(34) of Directive 2012/27/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy 
efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU 
and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC ( 2 ); 
(108) ‘cogeneration’ or combined heat and power (CHP) means the 
simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and 
electrical and/or mechanical energy; 
(109) ‘energy from renewable energy sources’ means energy produced 
by plants using only renewable energy sources, as well as the 
share in terms of calorific value of energy produced from 
renewable energy sources in hybrid plants which also use 
conventional energy sources. It includes renewable electricity 
used for filling storage systems, but excludes electricity 
produced as a result of storage systems; 
(110) ‘renewable energy sources’ means the following renewable non- 
fossil energy sources: wind, solar, aerothermal, geothermal, 
hydrothermal and ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill 
gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases; 
( 1 ) OJ L 24, 29.1.2008, p. 8. 
( 2 ) OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 21 
▼B 
(111) ‘biofuel’ means liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced 
from biomass; 
(112) ‘sustainable biofuel’ means a biofuel fulfilling the sustainability 
criteria set out in Article 17 of Directive 2009/28/EC; 
(113) ‘food based biofuel’ means a biofuel produced from cereal and 
other starch rich crops, sugars and oil crops as defined in the 
Commission's Proposal for a Directive of the European 
Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC 
relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending 
Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from 
renewable sources ( 1 ); 
(114) ‘new and innovative technology’ means a new and unproven 
technology compared to the state of the art in the industry, 
which carries a risk of technological or industrial failure and is 
not an optimisation or scaling up of an existing technology; 
(115) ‘balancing responsibilities’ means responsibility for imbalances 
(deviations between generation, consumption and commercial 
transactions) of a market participant or its chosen representative, 
referred to as the ‘Balance Responsible Party’, within a given 
period of time, referred to as the ‘Imbalance Settlement Period’; 
(116) ‘standard  balancing  responsibilities’  means  non-discriminatory 
balancing responsibilities across technologies which do not 
exempt any generator from those responsibilities; 
(117) ‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste 
and residues from agriculture (including vegetal and animal 
substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries 
and aquaculture, as well as biogases and the biodegradable 
fraction of industrial and municipal waste; 
(118) ‘total levelized costs of producing energy’ is a calculation of the 
cost of generating electricity at the point of connection to a load 
or electricity grid. It includes the initial capital, discount rate, as 
well as the costs of continuous operation, fuel, and maintenance; 
(119)  ‘environmental tax’ means a tax with a specific tax base that has 
a clear negative effect on the environment or which seeks to tax 
certain activities, goods or services so that the environmental 
costs may be included in their price and/or so that producers 
and consumers are oriented towards activities which better 
respect the environment; 
(120)  ‘Union minimum tax level’ means the minimum level of taxation 
provided for in the Union legislation; for energy products and 
electricity it means the minimum level of taxation laid down in 
Annex I to Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 
restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of 
energy products and electricity ( 2 ); 
( 1 ) COM (2012) 595, 17.10.2012. 
( 2 ) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p.   
51.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 22 
▼B 
(121) ‘contaminated site’ means a site where there is a confirmed 
presence, caused by man, of hazardous substances of such a 
level that they pose a significant risk to human health or the 
environment taking into account current and approved future 
use of the land; 
(122) ‘polluter pays principle’ or ‘PPP’ means that the costs of 
measures to deal with pollution should be borne by the polluter 
who causes the pollution; 
(123) ‘pollution’ means the damage caused by a polluter directly or 
indirectly damaging the environment, or by creating conditions 
leading to such damage to physical surroundings or natural 
resources; 
(124) ‘energy efficient district heating and cooling’ means a district 
heating and cooling system which satisfies the definition of 
efficient district heating and cooling system set out in 
Article 2(41) and (42) of Directive 2012/27/EU. The definition 
includes the heating/cooling production plants and the network 
(including related facilities) necessary to distribute the heat/ 
cooling from the production units to the customer premises; 
(125) ‘polluter’ means someone who directly or indirectly damages the 
environment or who creates conditions leading to such damage. 
(126) ‘re-use’ means any operation by which products or components 
that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which 
they were conceived; 
(127) ‘preparing  for  re-use’  means  checking,  cleaning  or  repairing 
recovery operations, by which products or components of products 
that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used 
without any other pre-processing; 
(128) ‘recycling’  means  any  recovery  operation  by  which  waste 
materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances 
whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the repro­
cessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery 
and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or 
for backfilling operations; 
(129)  ‘state of the art’ means a process in which the re-use of a waste 
product to manufacture an end product is economically profitable 
normal practice. Where appropriate, the concept of state of the art 
must be interpreted from a Union technological and internal 
market perspective; 
(130) ‘energy infrastructure’ means any physical equipment or facility 
which is located within the Union or linking the Union to one or 
more third countries and falling under the following categories: 
(a) concerning electricity: 
(i) infrastructure 
for 
transmission, 
as 
defined 
in 
Article 
2(3) 
by Directive 2009/72/EC of 13 July 2009 concerning 
common rules for internal market in electricity ( 1 ); 
( 1 ) OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 55.  

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 23 
▼B
(ii) infrastructure for distribution, as defined in Article 2(5) 
by Directive 2009/72/EC; 
(iii) electricity storage, defined as facilities used for storing 
electricity on a permanent or temporary basis in above- 
ground or underground infrastructure or geological sites, 
provided they are directly connected to high-voltage 
transmission lines designed for a voltage of 110 kV or 
more; 
(iv) any equipment or installation essential for the systems 
defined in points (i) to (iii) to operate safely, securely 
and efficiently, including protection, monitoring and 
control systems at all voltage levels and substations; and 
(v) smart grids, defined as any equipment, line, cable or 
installation, both at transmission and low and medium 
voltage distribution level, aiming at two-way digital 
communication, real-time or close to real-time, inter­
active and intelligent monitoring and management of 
electricity generation, transmission, distribution and 
consumption within an electricity network in view of 
developing a network efficiently integrating the 
behaviour and actions of all users connected to it — 
generators, consumers and those that do both — in 
order to ensure an economically efficient, sustainable 
electricity system with low losses and high quality and 
security of supply and safety; 
(b) concerning gas: 
(i) transmission 
and 
distribution 
pipelines 
for 
the 
transport 
of natural gas and bio gas that form part of a network, 
excluding high-pressure pipelines used for upstream 
distribution of natural gas; 
(ii) underground storage facilities connected to the high- 
pressure gas pipelines mentioned in point (i); 
(iii) reception, storage and regasification or decompression 
facilities for liquefied natural gas (‘LNG’) or compressed 
natural gas (‘CNG’); and 
(iv) any equipment or installation essential for the system to 
operate safely, securely and efficiently or to enable bi- 
directional capacity, including compressor stations; 
(c) concerning oil: 
(i) pipelines 
used 
to 
transport 
crude 
oil; 
(ii) pumping stations and storage facilities necessary for the 
 
operation of crude oil pipelines; and 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 24 
▼  
B
(iii) any equipment or installation essential for the system in 
question to operate properly, securely and efficiently, 
including protection, monitoring and control systems 
and reverse-flow devices; 
(d) concerning CO 2 : networks of pipelines, including associated 
booster stations, for the transport of CO 2 to storage sites, with 
the aim to inject the CO 2  in suitable underground geological 
formations for permanent storage; 
(131) ‘internal  energy  market  legislation’  includes  Directive 
2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in 
electricity, Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the 
internal market in natural gas ( 1 ), Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 
establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regu­
lators ( 2 ); Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions 
for access to the network for cross-border exchanges ( 3 ) and 
Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the 
natural gas transmission networks ( 4 ) or any subsequent legis­
lation replacing these acts in full or in part; 
Definitions applying to social aid for transport for residents of 
remote regions
 
(132) ‘normal residence’ means the place where a natural person lives 
for at least 185 days, in each calendar year, because of personal 
and occupational ties; in the case of a person whose occupational 
ties are in a different place from his/her personal ties and who 
lives in two or more Member States, the place of normal 
residence is regarded as the place of his/her personal ties 
provided that he/she returns there regularly; where a person is 
living in a Member State in order to carry out a task of a set 
duration, the place of residence is still regarded as being the place 
of his/her personal ties, irrespective of whether he/she returns 
there during the course of this activity; attendance at a university 
or school in another Member State does not constitute a transfer 
of normal residence; alternatively, ‘normal residence’ shall have 
the meaning attributed to it in Member States' national law. 
Definitions for aid for broadband infrastructures 
(133) ‘basic broadband’‘Basic broadband  networks’ means networks 
with basic functionalities which are based on technology 
platforms such as asymmetric digital subscriber lines (up to 
ADSL2+ networks), non-enhanced cable (e.g. DOCSIS 2.0), 
mobile networks of third generation (UMTS) and satellite 
systems; 
(134) ‘broadband-related  civil  engineering  works’  means  the  civil 
engineering works which are necessary for the deployment of a 
broadband network, such as digging up a road in order to enable 
the placement of (broadband) ducts. 
( 1 ) OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 94. 
( 2 ) OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 1. 
( 3 ) OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 15. 
( 4 ) OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 36.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 25 
▼B
(135) ‘ducts’ means underground pipes or conduits used to house (fibre, 
copper or coax) cables of a broadband network. 
(136) ‘physical unbundling’ grants access to the end-consumer access 
line and allows competitors' own transmission systems to directly 
transmit over it. 
(137) ‘passive broadband infrastructure’ means a broadband network 
without any active component. It typically comprises civil engin­
eering infrastructure, ducts and dark fibre and street cabinets. 
(138) ‘next  generation  access  (NGA)  networks’  means  advanced 
networks which have at least the following characteristics: (a) 
deliver services reliably at a very high speed per subscriber 
through optical (or equivalent technology) backhaul sufficiently 
close to user premises to guarantee the actual delivery of the very 
high speed; (b) support a variety of advanced digital services 
including converged all-IP services, and (c) have substantially 
higher upload speeds (compared to basic broadband networks). 
At the current stage of market and technological development, 
NGA networks are: (a) fibre-based access networks (FTTx), (b) 
advanced upgraded cable networks and (c) certain advanced 
wireless access networks capable of delivering reliable high- 
speeds per subscriber. 
(139) ‘wholesale access’ means access which enables an operator to 
utilise the facilities of another operator. The widest possible 
access to be provided over the relevant network shall include, 
on the basis of the current technological developments, at least 
the following access products. For FTTH/FTTB networks: ducts 
access, access to dark fibre, unbundled access to the local loop, 
and bitstream access. For cable networks: duct access and bit- 
stream access. For FTTC networks: duct access, sub-loop 
unbundling and bit-stream access. For passive network infra­
structure: duct access, access to dark fibre and/or unbundled 
access to the local loop. For ADSL-based broadband networks: 
unbundled access to the local loop, bit-stream access. For mobile 
or wireless networks: bit-stream, sharing of physical masts and 
access to the backhaul networks. For satellite platforms: bit- 
stream access. 
Definitions for aid for culture and heritage conservation 
(140) ‘difficult audiovisual works’: means the works identified as such 
by Member States on the basis of pre-defined criteria when 
setting up schemes or granting the aid and may include films 
whose sole original version is in a language of a Member State 
with a limited territory, population or language area, short films, 
films by first-time and second-time directors, documentaries, or 
low budget or otherwise commercially difficult works. 
(141) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) List of the OECD: 
means all countries and territories that are eligible to receive 
official development assistance and included in the list 
compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and 
 
Development (OECD); 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 26 
▼  
B
(142) ‘reasonable profit’ shall be determined with respect to the typical 
profit for the sector concerned. In any event, a rate of return on 
capital that does not exceed the relevant swap rate plus a 
premium of 100 basis points will be considered to be reasonable. 
Definitions for aid for sport and multifunctional recreational 
infrastructures
 
(143) ‘professional sport’ means the practice of sport in the nature of 
gainful employment or remunerated service, irrespective of 
whether or not a formal labour contract has been established 
between the professional sportsperson and the relevant sport 
organisation, where the compensation exceeds the cost of partici­
pation and constitutes a significant part of the income for the 
sportsperson. Travel and accommodation expenses to participate 
to the sport event shall not be considered as compensation for the 
purposes of this Regulation. 
▼M1 
Definitions for Aid for regional airports 
(144) ‘airport infrastructure’ means infrastructure and equipment for the 
provision of airport services by the airport to airlines and the 
various service providers, including runways, terminals, aprons, 
taxiways, centralised ground handling infrastructure and any other 
facilities that directly support the airport services, excluding infra­
structure and equipment which is primarily necessary for 
pursuing non-aeronautical activities; 
(145) ‘airline’ means any airline with a valid operating licence issued 
by a Member State or a Member of the Common European 
Aviation Area pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ); 
(146) ‘airport’ means an entity or group of entities performing the 
economic activity of providing airport services to airlines; 
(147) ‘airport services’ means services provided to airlines by an airport 
or any of its subsidiaries, to ensure the handling of aircraft, from 
landing to take-off, and of passengers and freight, so as to enable 
airlines to provide air transport services, including the provision 
of ground handling services and the provision of centralised 
ground handling infrastructure; 
(148) ‘average annual passenger traffic’ means a figure determined on 
the basis of the inbound and outbound passenger traffic during 
the two financial years preceding that in which the aid is granted; 
(149) ‘centralised ground handling infrastructure’ means infrastructure 
which is normally operated by the airport manager and put at the 
disposal of the various providers of ground handling services 
active at the airport in exchange for remuneration, excluding 
equipment owned or operated by the providers of ground 
handling services; 
(150) ‘high-speed train’ means a train capable of reaching speeds of 
over 200 km/h; 
( 1 ) Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air 
services in the Community (OJ L 293, 31.10.2008, p. 3).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 27 
▼M1 
(151) ‘ground handling services’ means services provided to airport 
users at airports as described in the Annex to Council Directive 
96/67/EC ( 1 ); 
(152) ‘non-aeronautical activities’ means commercial services to airlines 
or other users of the airport, including ancillary services to 
passengers, freight forwarders or other service providers, renting 
out of offices and shops, car parking and hotels; 
(153) ‘regional airport’ means an airport with average annual passenger 
traffic of up to 3 million passengers; 
Definitions for Aid for ports 
(154) ‘port’ means an area of land and water made up of such infra­
structure and equipment, so as to permit the reception of 
waterborne vessels, their loading and unloading, the storage of 
goods, the receipt and delivery of those goods and the embar­
kation and disembarkation of passengers, crew and other persons 
and any other infrastructure necessary for transport operators in 
the port; 
(155) ‘maritime port’ means a port for, principally, the reception of sea- 
going vessels; 
(156) ‘inland port’ means a port other than a maritime port, for the 
reception of inland waterway vessels; 
(157) ‘port infrastructure’ means infrastructure and facilities for the 
provision of transport related port services, for example berths 
used for the mooring of ships, quay walls, jetties and floating 
pontoon ramps in tidal areas, internal basins, backfills and land 
reclamation, alternative fuel infrastructure and infrastructure for 
the collection of ship-generated waste and cargo residues; 
(158) ‘port superstructure’ means surface arrangements (such as for 
storage), fixed equipment (such as warehouses and terminal 
buildings) as well as mobile equipment (such as cranes) located 
in a port for the provision of transport related port services; 
(159) ‘access infrastructure’ means any type of infrastructure necessary 
to ensure access and entry from land or sea and river by users to 
a port, or in a port, such as roads, rail tracks, channels and locks; 
(160) ‘dredging’ means the removal of sediments from the bottom of 
the waterway access to a port, or in a port; 
(161) ‘alternative fuel infrastructure’ means a fixed, mobile or offshore 
port infrastructure allowing a port to supply vessels with energy 
sources such as electricity, hydrogen, biofuels as defined in point 
(i) of Article 2 of Directive 2009/28/EC, synthetic and paraffinic 
fuels, natural gas, including biomethane, in gaseous form (com­
pressed natural gas (CNG)) and liquefied form (liquefied natural 
( 1 ) Council Directive 96/67/EC of 15 October 1996 on access to the ground­
handling market at Community airports (OJ 
 
L 272, 25.10.1996, p. 36).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 28 
▼M1 
gas (LNG)), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which serve, at 
least partly, as a substitute for fossil oil sources in the energy 
supply to transport and which have the potential to contribute to 
its decarbonisation and enhance the environmental performance 
of the transport sector; 
(162) ‘vessels’ mean floating structures, whether self-propelled or not, 
with one or more surface displacement hulls; 
(163) ‘sea-going vessels’ mean vessels other than those which navigate 
solely or mainly in inland waterways or in waters within, or 
closely adjacent to, sheltered waters; 
(164) ‘inland waterway vessels’ mean vessels intended solely or mainly 
for navigation on inland waterways or in waters within, or closely 
adjacent to, sheltered waters; 
(165) ‘infrastructure  for  the  collection  of  ship-generated  waste  and 
cargo residues’ means fixed, floating or mobile port facilities 
capable of receiving ship-generated waste or cargo residues as 
defined in Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council ( 1 ). 
▼B 
Article 3 
Conditions for exemption 
Aid schemes, individual aid granted under aid schemes and ad hoc aid 
shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of 
Article 107(2) or (3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the 
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty provided that 
such aid fulfils all the conditions laid down in Chapter I of this Regu­
lation, as well as the specific conditions for the relevant category of aid 
laid down in Chapter III of this Regulation. 
Article 4 
Notification thresholds 
1. 
This Regulation shall not apply to aid which exceeds the following 
thresholds: 
(a)  for regional investment aid: the ‘adjusted aid amount’ of aid, as 
calculated in accordance with the mechanism defined in Article 2, 
point 20 for an investment with eligible costs of EUR 100 million; 
(b) for 
regional 
urban 
development 
aid, 
EUR 
20 
million 
as 
laid 
down 
in Article 16(3); 
(c) for 
investment 
aid 
to 
SMEs: 
EUR 
7,5 
million 
per 
undertaking 
per 
investment project; 
(d)  for aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs: EUR 2 million per 
undertaking, per project; 
(e)  for aid to SMEs for participation in fairs: EUR 2 million per 
undertaking, per year; 
(f)  for aid to SMEs for cooperation costs incurred by participating in 
European Territorial Cooperation projects: EUR 2 million per 
undertaking, per project; 
( 1 ) Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and 
cargo residues (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 81).
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 29 
▼B
(g) for risk finance aid: EUR 15 million per eligible undertaking as 
laid down in Article 21(9); 
(h)  for aid for start-ups: the amounts laid down per undertaking in 
Article 22(3), (4) and (5); 
(i)  for aid for research and development: 
(i) if 
the 
project 
is 
predominantly 
fundamental 
research: 
EUR 
40 
million per undertaking, per project; that is the case where 
more than half of the eligible costs of the project are incurred 
through activities which fall within the category of funda­
mental research; 
(ii) if the project is predominantly industrial research: EUR 20 
million per undertaking, per project; that is the case where 
more than half of the eligible costs of the project are incurred 
through activities which fall within the category of industrial 
research or within the categories of industrial research and 
fundamental research taken together; 
(iii) if  the  project  is  predominantly  experimental  development: 
EUR 15 million per undertaking, per project; that is the 
case where more than half of the eligible costs of the 
project are incurred through activities which fall within the 
category of experimental development; 
(iv)  if the project is a Eureka project or is implemented by a Joint 
Undertaking established on the basis of Article 185 or of 
Article 187 of the Treaty, the amounts referred to in points 
(i) to (iii) are doubled. 
(v)  if the aid for research and development projects is granted in 
the form of repayable advances which, in the absence of an 
accepted methodology to calculate their gross grant equiv­
alent, are expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs and 
the measure provides that in case of a successful outcome of 
the project, as defined on the basis of a reasonable and 
prudent hypothesis, the advances will be repaid with an 
interest rate at least equal to the discount rate applicable at 
the time of grant, the amounts referred to in points (i) to (iv) 
are increased by 50 %; 
(vi) aid for feasibility studies in preparation for research activities: 
EUR 7,5 million per study; 
(j)  for investment aid for research infrastructures: EUR 20 million per 
infrastructure; 
(k)  for aid for innovation clusters: EUR 7,5 million per cluster; 
(l) innovation 
aid 
for 
SMEs: 
EUR 

million 
per 
undertaking, 
per 
project; 
(m) for aid for process and organisational innovation: EUR 7,5 million 
per undertaking, per project; 
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 30 
▼  
B
(n) for 
training 
aid: 
EUR 

million 
per 
training 
project; 
(o)  for aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged workers: EUR 5 
million per undertaking, per year; 
(p)  for aid for the employment of workers with disabilities in the form 
of wage subsidies: EUR 10 million per undertaking, per year; 
(q)  for aid for compensating the additional costs of employing workers 
with disabilities: EUR 10 million per undertaking, per year; 
(r)  for aid for compensating the costs of assistance provided to 
disadvantaged workers: EUR 5 million per undertaking, per year; 
(s) for investment aid for environmental protection, excluding 
investment aid for the remediation of contaminated sites and aid 
for the distribution network part of the energy efficient district 
heating and cooling installation: EUR 15 million per undertaking 
per investment project; 
(t) for 
investment 
aid 
for 
energy 
efficiency 
projects: 
EUR 
10 
million 
as laid down in Article 39(5); 
(u)  for investment aid for remediation of contaminated sites: EUR 20 
million per undertaking per investment project; 
(v)  for operating aid for the production of electricity from renewable 
sources and operating aid for the promotion of energy from 
renewable sources in small scale installations: EUR 15 million 
per undertaking per project. When the aid is granted on the 
basis of a competitive bidding process under Article 42: EUR 
150 million per year taking into account the combined budget of 
all schemes falling under Article 42; 
(w)  for investment aid for the district heating or cooling distribution 
network: EUR 20 million per undertaking per investment project; 
(x) for investment aid for 
energy infrastructure: 
EUR 50 million 
per 
undertaking, per investment project; 
(y) for 
aid for broadband infrastructures: 
EUR 70 million 
total costs 
per project; 
▼M1 
(z)  for investment aid for culture and heritage conservation: EUR 150 
million per project; operating aid for culture and heritage conser­
vation: EUR 75 million per undertaking per year; 
▼B 
(aa) for aid schemes for audiovisual works: EUR 50 million per 
scheme per year; 
▼M1 
(bb) for investment aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infra­
structures: EUR 30 million or the total costs exceeding EUR 100 
million per project; operating aid for sport infrastructure: EUR 2 
million per infrastructure per year; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 31 
▼  
B
(cc)  for investment aid for local infrastructures: EUR 10 million or the 
total costs exceeding EUR 20 million for the same infrastructure; 
▼M1 
(dd) for aid for regional airports: the aid intensities and aid amounts 
laid down in Article 56a; 
(ee) for aid for maritime ports: eligible costs of EUR 130 million per 
project (or EUR 150 million per project in a maritime port 
included in the work plan of a Core Network Corridor as 
referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 )); as regards 
dredging a project is defined as all dredging carried out within 
one calendar year; and 
(ff)  for aid for inland ports: eligible costs of EUR 40 million per 
project (or EUR 50 million per project in an inland port 
included in the work plan of a Core Network Corridor as 
referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013); as 
regards dredging a project is defined as all dredging carried out 
within one calendar year. 
▼B 
2.  The thresholds set out or referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be 
circumvented by artificially splitting up the aid schemes or aid projects. 
Article 5 
Transparency of aid 
1. This 
Regulation 
shall 
apply 
only 
to 
aid 
in 
respect 
of 
which 
it 
is 
possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent of the aid ex 
ante
 without any need to undertake a risk assessment (‘transparent aid’). 
2. The 
following 
categories 
of 
aid 
shall 
be 
considered 
to 
be 
trans­
parent: 
(a) aid comprised in grants and interest rate subsidies; 
(b) aid comprised in loans, where the gross grant equivalent has been 
calculated on the basis of the reference rate prevailing at the time of 
the grant; 
(c) aid comprised in guarantees: 
(i) where the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the 
basis of safe-harbour premiums laid down in a Commission 
notice; or 
(ii) where  before  the  implementation  of  the  measure,  the 
methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent of the 
guarantee has been accepted on the basis of the Commission 
Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC 
( 1 ) Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of 
the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 
661/2010/EU (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 1).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 32 
▼B 
Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees ( 1 ), or any 
successor notice, following notification of that methodology to 
the Commission under any regulation adopted by the 
Commission in the State aid area applicable at the time, and 
the approved methodology explicitly addresses the type of 
guarantee and the type of underlying transaction at stake in 
the context of the application of this Regulation; 
(d)  aid in the form of tax advantages, where the measure provides for a 
cap ensuring that the applicable threshold is not exceeded; 
(e) aid for regional urban development if the conditions laid down in 
Article 16 are fulfilled; 
(f) aid comprised in risk finance measures if the conditions laid down 
in Article 21 are fulfilled; 
(g) aid for start-ups if the conditions laid down in Article 22 are 
fulfilled; 
(h) aid for energy efficiency projects if the conditions laid down in 
Article 39 are fulfilled; 
(i)  aid in the form of premiums in addition to the market price if the 
conditions laid down in Article 42 are fulfilled; 
(j)  aid in the form of repayable advances, if the total nominal amount 
of the repayable advance does not exceed the thresholds applicable 
under this Regulation or if, before implementation of the measure, 
the methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent of the 
repayable advance has been accepted following its notification to 
the Commission; 
▼M1 
(k) aid in the form of the sale or the lease of tangible assets below 
market rates where the value is established either by an independent 
expert evaluation prior to the transaction or by reference to a 
publicly available, regularly updated and generally accepted 
benchmark. 
▼B 
Article 6 
Incentive effect 
1. This 
Regulation 
shall 
apply 
only 
to 
aid 
which 
has 
an 
incentive 
effect. 
2. Aid 
shall 
be 
considered 
to 
have 
an 
incentive 
effect 
if 
the 
benefici­
ary has submitted a written application for the aid to the Member State 
concerned before work on the project or activity starts. The application 
for the aid shall contain at least the following information: 
( 1 ) OJ C 155, 20.6.2008, p. 10.
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 33 
▼B
(a) undertaking's name and size; 
(b) description of the project, including its start and end dates; 
(c) location of the project; 
(d) list of project costs; 
(e) type  of  aid  (grant,  loan,  guarantee,  repayable  advance,  equity 
injection or other) and amount of public funding needed for the 
project; 
3. 
Ad hoc aid granted to large enterprises shall be considered to have 
an incentive effect if, in addition to ensuring that the condition laid 
down in paragraph 2 is fulfilled, the Member State has verified, 
before granting the aid concerned, that documentation prepared by the 
beneficiary establishes that the aid will result in one or more of the 
following: 
(a) in the case of regional investment aid: that a project is carried out, 
which would not have been carried out in the area concerned or 
would not have been sufficiently profitable for the beneficiary in the 
area concerned in the absence of the aid. 
(b) in all other cases, that there is: 
—  a material increase in the scope of the project/activity due to the 
aid, or 
—  a material increase in the total amount spent by the beneficiary 
on the project/activity due to the aid, or 
— a material increase in the speed of completion of the project/ 
activity concerned; 
4. By 
way 
of 
derogation 
from 
paragraphs 

and 
3, 
measures 
in 
the 
form of tax advantages shall be deemed to have an incentive effect if 
the following conditions are fulfilled: 
(a)  the measure establishes a right to aid in accordance with objective 
criteria and without further exercise of discretion by the Member 
State; and 
(b) the measure has been adopted and is in force before work on the 
aided project or activity has started, except in the case of fiscal 
successor schemes, where the activity was already covered by the 
previous schemes in the form of tax advantages. 
5. 
By way of derogation from paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the following 
categories of aid are not required to have or shall be deemed to have an 
incentive effect: 
▼M1 
(a) regional operating aid and regional urban development aid, where 
the relevant conditions laid down in Articles 15 and 16 are fulfilled, 
▼B 
(b) aid for access to finance for SMEs, if the relevant conditions laid 
down in Articles 21 and 22 are fulfilled, 
(c) aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged workers in the form of 
wage subsidies and aid for the employment of workers with 
disabilities in the form of wage subsidies, if the relevant conditions 
laid down in Articles   
32 and 33 respectively are fulfilled, 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 34 
▼  
M1 
(d) aid compensating for the additional costs of employing workers 
with disabilities and aid for compensating the costs of assistance 
provided to disadvantaged workers, where the relevant conditions 
laid down in Articles 34 and 35 are fulfilled; 
▼B 
(e)  aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes under Directive 
2003/96/EC, if the conditions laid down in Article 44 of this Regu­
lation are fulfilled; 
(f)  aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural disasters, if 
the conditions laid down in Article 50 are fulfilled; 
(g) social  aid  for  transport  for  residents  of  remote  regions,  if  the 
conditions laid down in Article 51 are fulfilled; 
(h)  aid for culture and heritage conservation, if the conditions laid down 
in Article 53 are fulfilled. 
Article 7 
Aid intensity and eligible costs 
1. For 
the 
purposes 
of 
calculating 
aid 
intensity 
and 
eligible 
costs, 
all 
figures used shall be taken before any deduction of tax or other charge. 
The eligible costs shall be supported by documentary evidence which 
shall be clear, specific and contemporary. 
▼M1 
The amounts of eligible costs may be calculated in accordance with the 
simplified cost options set out in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ), provided that the operation 
is at least partly financed through a Union fund that allows the use of 
those simplified cost options and that the category of costs is eligible 
according to the relevant exemption provision. 
▼B 
2. 
Where aid is granted in a form other than a grant, the aid amount 
shall be the gross grant equivalent of the aid. 
3. 
►M1  Aid payable in the future, including aid payable in several 
instalments, shall be discounted to its value at the moment it is 
granted. ◄ The eligible costs shall be discounted to their value at the 
moment the aid is granted. The interest rate to be used for discounting 
purposes shall be the discount rate applicable at the moment the aid is 
granted. 
▼M1  __________ 
( 1 ) Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the 
European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the 
Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general 
provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European 
Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries 
Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 
20.12.2013, p. 320).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 35 
▼B
5. 
Where aid is granted in the form of repayable advances which, in 
the absence of an accepted methodology to calculate their gross grant 
equivalent, are expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs and the 
measure provides that in case of a successful outcome of the project, as 
defined on the basis of a reasonable and prudent hypothesis, the 
advances will be repaid with an interest rate at least equal to the 
discount rate applicable at the moment the aid is granted, the 
maximum aid intensities laid down in Chapter III may be increased 
by 10 percentage points. 
6. Where 
regional 
aid 
is 
granted 
in 
the 
form 
of 
repayable 
advances, 
the maximum aid intensities established in a regional aid map in force at 
the moment the aid is granted may not be increased. 
Article 8 
Cumulation 
1. 
In determining whether the notification thresholds in Article 4 and 
the maximum aid intensities in Chapter III are respected, the total 
amount of State aid for the aided activity or project or undertaking 
shall be taken into account. 
2. Where 
Union 
funding 
centrally 
managed 
by 
the 
institutions, 
agencies, joint undertakings or other bodies of the Union that is not 
directly or indirectly under the control of the Member State is combined 
with State aid, only the latter shall be considered for determining 
whether notification thresholds and maximum aid intensities or 
maximum aid amounts are respected, provided that the total amount 
of public funding granted in relation to the same eligible costs does 
not exceed the most favourable funding rate laid down in the applicable 
rules of Union law. 
3. Aid 
with 
identifiable 
eligible 
costs 
exempted 
by 
this 
Regulation 
may be cumulated with: 
(a) any other State aid, as long as those measures concern different 
identifiable eligible costs, 
(b) any other State aid, in relation to the same eligible costs, partly or 
fully overlapping, only if such cumulation does not result in 
exceeding the highest aid intensity or aid amount applicable to 
this aid under this Regulation. 
4. Aid 
without 
identifiable 
eligible 
costs 
exempted 
under 
Articles 
21, 
22 and 23 of this Regulation may be cumulated with any other State aid 
with identifiable eligible costs. Aid without identifiable eligible costs 
may be cumulated with any other State aid without identifiable eligible 
costs, up to the highest relevant total financing threshold fixed in the 
specific circumstances of each case by this or another block exemption 
 
regulation or decision adopted by the Commission. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 36 
▼  
B
5. State 
aid 
exempted 
under 
this 
Regulation 
shall 
not 
be 
cumulated 
with any de minimis aid in respect of the same eligible costs if such 
cumulation would result in an aid intensity exceeding those laid down 
in Chapter III of this Regulation. 
6. By 
way 
of 
derogation 
from 
paragraph 
3(b), 
aid 
in 
favour 
of 
workers with disabilities, as provided for in Articles 33 and 34 may 
be cumulated with other aid exempted under this Regulation in relation 
to the same eligible costs above the highest applicable threshold under 
this Regulation, provided that such cumulation does not result in an aid 
intensity exceeding 100 % of the relevant costs over any period for 
which the workers concerned are employed. 
▼M1 
7. By 
way 
of 
derogation 
from 
paragraphs 

to 
6, 
in 
determining 
whether the ceilings for regional operating aid in outermost regions, 
as set out in Article 15(4), are respected, only regional operating aid 
in outermost regions implemented under this Regulation shall be taken 
into account. 
▼B 
Article 9 
Publication and information 
1. The 
Member 
State 
concerned 
shall 
ensure 
the 
publication 
on 

comprehensive State aid website, at national or regional level of: 
(a) the summary information referred to in Article 11 in the stan­
dardised format laid down in Annex II or a link providing access 
to it; 
(b) the full text of each aid measure, as referred to in Article 11 or a 
link providing access to the full text; 
(c) the information referred to in Annex III on each individual aid 
award exceeding EUR 500 000. 
As regards aid granted to European Territorial Cooperation projects, the 
information referred to in this paragraph shall be placed on the website 
of the Member State in which the Managing Authority concerned, as 
defined in Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 1299/2013 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, is located. Alternatively, the participating 
Member States may also decide that each of them shall provide the 
information relating to the aid measures within their territory on the 
respective websites. 
2.  For schemes in the form of tax advantages, and for schemes 
covered by Article 16 and 21 ( 1 ) the conditions set out in paragraph 
1(c) of this Article shall be considered fulfilled if Member States 
publish the required information on individual aid amounts in the 
following ranges (in EUR million): 
( 1 ) For  schemes  under  Article  16  and  21  of  the  present  Regulation,  the 
requirement to publish information on each individual award exceeding 
EUR 500 000 can be waived with respect to SMEs which have not carried 
out any commercial sale in any market.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 37 
▼B
0,5-1; 
1-2; 
2-5; 
5-10; 
10-30; and 
30 and more. 
3. For 
schemes 
under 
Article 
51 
of 
this 
Regulation, 
the 
publication 
obligations laid down in this article shall not apply to final consumers. 
4. The 
information 
referred 
to 
in 
paragraph 
1(c) 
of 
this 
Article 
shall 
be organised and accessible in a standardised manner, as described in 
Annex III, and shall allow for effective search and download functions. 
The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published within 6 
months from the date the aid was granted, or for aid in the form of tax 
advantage, within 1 year from the date the tax declaration is due, and 
shall be available for at least 10 years from the date on which the aid 
was granted. 
5. The 
Commission 
shall 
publish 
on 
its 
website: 
(a)  the links to the State aid websites referred to in paragraph 1 of this 
Article; 
(b) the summary information referred to in Article 11. 
6. Member 
States 
shall 
comply 
with 
the 
provisions 
of 
this 
Article 
at 
the latest within two years after the entry into force of this Regulation. 
CHAPTER II 
MONITORING 
Article 10 
Withdrawal of the benefit of the block exemption 
Where a Member State grants aid allegedly exempted from the notifi­
cation requirement under this Regulation without fulfilling the 
conditions set out in Chapters I to III, the Commission may, after 
having provided the Member State concerned with the possibility to 
make its views known, adopt a decision stating that all or some of 
the future aid measures adopted by the Member State concerned 
which would otherwise fulfil the requirements of this Regulation, are 
to be notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 108(3) of 
the Treaty. The measures to be notified may be limited to the measures 
granting certain types of aid or in favour of certain beneficiaries or aid 
measures adopted by certain 
 
authorities of the Member State concerned. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 38 
▼  
B
Article 11 
Reporting 
Member States, or in the case of aid granted to European Territorial 
Cooperation projects, alternatively the Member State in which the 
Managing Authority, as defined in Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 
1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, is located, 
shall transmit to the Commission: 
(a) via the Commission's electronic notification system, the summary 
information about each aid measure exempted under this Regulation 
in the standardised format laid down in Annex II, together with a 
link providing access to the full text of the aid measure, including 
its amendments, within 20 working days following its entry into 
force; 
(b) an annual report, as referred to in the Commission Regulation (EC) 
No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation 
(EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for 
the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty ( 1 ) as amended, in 
electronic form, on the application of this Regulation, containing the 
information indicated in the Implementing Regulation, in respect of 
each whole year or each part of the year during which this Regu­
lation applies. 
▼M1 
Article 12 
Monitoring 
1.  In order to enable the Commission to monitor the aid exempted 
from notification by this Regulation, Member States, or alternatively, in 
the case of aid granted to European Territorial Cooperation projects, the 
Member State in which the Managing Authority is located, shall 
maintain detailed records with the information and supporting documen­
tation necessary to establish that all the conditions laid down in this 
Regulation are fulfilled. Such records shall be kept for 10 years from the 
date on which the ad hoc aid was granted or the last aid was granted 
under the scheme. 
2.  In the case of schemes under which fiscal aid is granted auto­
matically, such as those based on tax declarations of the beneficiaries, 
and where there is no ex ante verification that all compatibility 
conditions are met for each beneficiary, Member States shall regularly 
verify, at least ex post and on a sample basis, that all compatibility 
conditions are met, and draw the necessary conclusions. Member 
States shall maintain detailed records of the verifications for at least 
10 years from the date of the controls. 
3. The 
Commission 
may 
request, 
from 
each 
Member 
State, 
all 
the 
information and supporting documentation which the Commission 
considers necessary to monitor the application of this Regulation, 
including the information mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2. The 
Member State concerned shall provide the Commission with the 
requested information and supporting documents within a period of 
20 working days from receipt of the request or such longer period as 
may be fixed in the request. 
( 1 ) OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 39 
▼B
CHAPTER III 
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF AID 
SECTION 1 
Regional aid 
S u b s e c t i o n  A 
R e g i o n a l  i n v e s t m e n t  a n d  o p e r a t i n g  a i d 
▼M1 
Article 13 
Scope of regional aid 
This Section shall not apply to: 
(a)  aid which favours activities in the steel sector, the coal sector, the 
shipbuilding sector or the synthetic fibres sector; 
(b) aid to the transport sector as well as the related infrastructure, and 
aid for energy generation, distribution and infrastructure, except for 
regional investment aid in outermost regions and regional operating 
aid schemes; 
(c)  regional aid in the form of schemes which are targeted at a limited 
number of specific sectors of economic activity; schemes aimed at 
tourism activities, broadband infrastructures or processing and 
marketing of agricultural products are not considered to be 
targeted at specific sectors of economic activity; 
(d) regional  operating  aid  granted  to  undertakings  whose  principal 
activities fall under Section K ‘Financial and insurance activities’ 
of the NACE Rev. 2 or to undertakings that perform intra-group 
activities whose principal activities fall under classes 70.10 
‘Activities of head offices’ or 70.22 ‘Business and other 
management consultancy activities’ of NACE Rev. 2. 
▼B 
Article 14 
Regional investment aid 
1. Regional 
investment 
aid 
measures 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The aid shall be granted in assisted areas. 
3. In 
assisted 
areas 
fulfilling 
the 
conditions 
of 
Article 
107(3)(a) 
of 
the Treaty, the aid may be granted for an initial investment regardless of 
the size of the beneficiary. In assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, the aid may be granted to SMEs for any 
form of initial investment. Aid to large enterprises shall only be granted 
for an initial investment in favour of new economic activity in the area 
concerned. 
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 40 
▼  
B
4. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
as 
follows: 
(a) investment costs in tangible and intangible assets; 
(b)  the estimated wage costs arising from job creation as a result of an 
initial investment, calculated over a period of two years; or 
(c) a combination of points (a) and (b) not exceeding the amount of (a) 
or (b), whichever is higher. 
5.  The investment shall be maintained in the recipient area for at 
least five years, or at least three years in the case of SMEs, after 
completion of the investment. This shall not prevent the replacement 
of plant or equipment that has become outdated or broken within this 
period, provided that the economic activity is retained in the area 
concerned for the relevant minimum period. 
6.  The assets acquired shall be new except for SMEs and for the 
acquisition of an establishment. Costs related to the lease of tangible 
assets may be taken into account under the following conditions: 
(a) for land and buildings, the lease must continue for at least five years 
after the expected date of completion of the investment project for 
large undertakings or three years in the case of SMEs; 
(b) for plant or machinery, the lease must take the form of financial 
leasing and must contain an obligation for the beneficiary of the aid 
to purchase the asset upon expiry of the term of the lease. 
►M1  In the case of acquisition of the assets of an establishment within 
the meaning of point 49 or point 51 of Article 2, only the costs of 
buying the assets from third parties unrelated to the buyer shall be taken 
into consideration. ◄ The transaction shall take place under market 
conditions. If aid has already been granted for the acquisition of 
assets prior to their purchase, the costs of those assets shall be 
deducted from the eligible costs related to the acquisition of an estab­
lishment. Where a member of the family of the original owner, or an 
employee, takes over a small enterprise, the condition that the assets be 
bought from third parties unrelated to the buyer shall be waived. The 
acquisition of shares does not constitute initial investment. 
7. 
►M1 For aid granted to large undertakings for a fundamental 
change in the production process, the eligible costs must exceed the 
depreciation of the assets linked to the activity to be modernised in the 
course of the preceding three fiscal years. ◄ For aid granted for a 
diversification of an existing establishment, the eligible costs must 
exceed by at least 200 % the book value of the assets that are reused, 
as registered in the fiscal year preceding the start of works. 
8. Intangible 
assets 
are 
eligible 
for 
the 
calculation 
of 
investment 
costs 
if they fulfil the following conditions: 
(a) they must be used exclusively in the establishment receiving the 
aid; 
(b) they must be amortisable; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 41 
▼  
B
(c) they must be purchased under market conditions from third parties 
unrelated to the buyer; and 
(d)  they must be included in the assets of the undertaking receiving the 
aid and must remain associated with the project for which the aid is 
granted for at least five years or three years in the case of SMEs. 
For large undertakings, costs of intangible assets are eligible only up to 
a limit of 50 % of the total eligible investment costs for the initial 
investment. 
9. Where 
eligible 
costs 
are 
calculated 
by 
reference 
to 
the 
estimated 
wage costs as referred to in paragraph 4(b), the following conditions 
shall be fulfilled: 
(a)  the investment project shall lead to a net increase in the number of 
employees in the establishment concerned, compared with the 
average over the previous 12 months, meaning that any job lost 
shall be deducted from the apparent created number of jobs 
during that period; 
(b)  each post shall be filled within three years of completion of works; 
and 
(c) each job created through the investment shall be maintained in the 
area concerned for a period of at least five years from the date the 
post was first filled, or three years in the case of SMEs. 
10. Regional 
aid 
for 
broadband 
network 
development 
shall 
fulfil 
the 
following conditions: 
(a) aid shall be granted only in areas where there is no network of the 
same category (either basic broadband or NGA) and where no such 
network is likely to be developed on commercial terms within three 
years from the decision to grant the aid; and 
(b) the  subsidised  network  operator  must  offer  active  and  passive 
wholesale access under fair and non-discriminatory conditions 
including physical unbundling in the case of NGA networks; and 
(c) aid shall be allocated on the basis of a competitive selection 
process. 
11. Regional 
aid 
for 
research 
infrastructures 
shall 
be 
granted 
only 
if 
the aid is made conditional on giving transparent and non-discriminatory 
access to the aided infrastructure. 
12. The 
aid 
intensity 
in 
gross 
grant 
equivalent 
shall 
not 
exceed 
the 
maximum aid intensity established in the regional aid map which is in 
force at the time the aid is granted in the area concerned. Where the aid 
intensity is calculated on the basis of paragraph 4(c), the maximum aid 
intensity shall not exceed the most favourable amount resulting from the 
application of that intensity on the basis of investment costs or wage 
costs. For large investment projects the aid amount shall not exceed the 
adjusted aid amount calculated in accordance with the mechanism 
defined in Article 2, point 20; 
13. Any 
initial 
investment 
started 
by 
the 
same 
beneficiary 
(at 
group 
level) within a period of three years from the date of start of works on 
another aided investment in the same level 3 region of the Nomen­
clature of Territorial Units for Statistics shall be considered to be part 
of a single investment project. Where such single investment project is a 
large investment project, the total aid amount for the single investment 
project shall not exceed the adjusted aid amount for large investment 
projects. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 42 
▼  
B
14. The 
aid 
beneficiary 
must 
provide 

financial 
contribution 
of 
at 
least 25 % of the eligible costs, either through its own resources or by 
external financing, in a form, which is free of any public support. In the 
outermost regions an investment made by an SME may receive an aid 
with a maximum aid intensity above 75 %, in such situations the 
remainder shall be provided by way of a financial contribution from 
the aid beneficiary. 
15. For 
an 
initial 
investment 
linked 
to 
European 
territorial 
cooper­
ation projects covered by Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013, the aid 
intensity of the area in which the initial investment is located shall 
apply to all beneficiaries participating in the project. If the initial 
investment is located in two or more assisted areas, the maximum aid 
intensity shall be the one applicable in the assisted area where the 
highest amount of eligible costs is incurred. In assisted areas eligible 
for aid under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, this provision shall apply 
to large undertakings only if the initial investment concerns a new 
economic activity. 
▼M1 
16. The 
beneficiary 
shall 
confirm 
that 
it 
has 
not 
carried 
out 

relo­
cation to the establishment in which the initial investment for which aid 
is requested is to take place, in the two years preceding the application 
for aid and give a commitment that it will not do so up to a period of 
two years after the initial investment for which aid is requested is 
completed. 
17. 
In the fisheries and aquaculture sector, aid shall not be granted to 
undertakings that have committed one or more of the infringements set 
out in Article 10(1)(a) to (d) and Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) No 
508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) and for 
operations of Article 11 of that Regulation. 
Article 15 
Regional operating aid 
1. Regional 
operating 
aid 
schemes 
in 
outermost 
regions, 
sparsely 
populated areas and very sparsely populated areas shall be compatible 
with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the 
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  In sparsely populated areas, the regional operating aid schemes 
shall compensate for the additional transport costs of goods which 
have been produced in areas eligible for operating aid, as well as 
additional transport costs of goods that are further processed in those 
areas, under the following conditions: 
(a)  the aid is objectively quantifiable in advance on the basis of a fixed 
sum or per tonne/kilometre ratio or any other relevant unit; 
( 1 )  Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing 
Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 
1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 43 
▼M1
(b) the additional transport costs are calculated on the basis of the 
journey of the goods inside the national border of the Member 
State concerned using the means of transport which results in the 
lowest costs for the beneficiary. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the additional transport 
costs as set out in this paragraph. 
3.  In very sparsely populated areas, the regional operating aid 
schemes shall prevent or reduce depopulation under the following 
conditions: 
(a)  the beneficiaries have their economic activity in the area concerned; 
(b) the annual aid amount per beneficiary under all operating aid 
schemes does not exceed 20 % of the annual labour costs 
incurred by the beneficiary in the area concerned. 
4. 
►C1 In outermost regions, the operating aid schemes shall 
compensate for the additional operating costs incurred in those 
regions as a direct result of one or several of the permanent 
handicaps referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty, where the bene­
ficiaries have their economic activity in an outermost region provided 
that the annual aid amount per beneficiary under all operating aid 
schemes implemented under this Regulation does not exceed one of 
the following percentages: ◄ 
(a)  35 % of the gross value added annually created by the beneficiary 
in the outermost region concerned; 
(b) 40 % of the annual labour costs incurred by the beneficiary in the 
outermost region concerned; 
(c) 30 % of the annual turnover of the beneficiary realised in the 
outermost region concerned. 
▼B 
S u b s e c t i o n  B 
U r b a n  d e v e l o p m e n t  a i d 
Article 16 
Regional urban development aid 
1.  Regional urban development aid shall be compatible with the 
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Urban 
development 
projects 
shall 
fulfil 
the 
following 
criteria: 
(a) they are implemented via urban development funds in assisted 
areas; 
(b) they are co-financed by the European Structural and Investment 
Funds; 
 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 44 
▼B   
(c) they support the implementation of an ‘integrated sustainable urban 
development strategy’; 
3.  The total investment in an urban development project under any 
urban development aid measure shall not exceed EUR 20 million. 
4. 
The eligible costs shall be the overall costs of the urban develop­
ment project to the extent that they comply with Articles 65 and 37 of 
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council ( 1 ). 
5. Aid 
granted 
by 
an 
urban 
development 
fund 
to 
the 
eligible 
urban 
development projects may take the form of equity, quasi-equity, loans, 
guarantees, or a mix thereof. 
6.  The urban development aid shall leverage additional investment 
from private investors at the level of the urban development funds or the 
urban development projects, so as to achieve an aggregate amount 
reaching minimum 30 % of the total financing provided to an urban 
development project. 
7. Private 
and 
public 
investors 
may 
provide 
cash 
or 
an 
in-kind 
contribution or a combination of those for the implementation of an 
urban development project. An in-kind contribution shall be taken 
into account at its market value, as certified by an independent 
qualified expert or duly authorised official body. 
8.  The urban development measures shall fulfil the following 
conditions: 
(a) urban development fund managers shall be selected through an 
open, transparent and non-discriminatory call in accordance with 
the applicable Union and national laws. In particular, there shall 
be no discrimination between urban development fund managers 
on the basis of their place of establishment or incorporation in 
any Member State. Urban development fund managers may be 
required to fulfil predefined criteria objectively justified by the 
nature of the investments; 
(b) the independent private investors shall be selected through an open, 
transparent and non-discriminatory call in accordance with 
applicable Union and national laws aimed at establishing the appro­
priate risk-reward sharing arrangements whereby, for investments 
other than guarantees, asymmetric profit-sharing shall be given pref­
erence over downside protection. If the private investors are not 
selected by such a call, the fair rate of return to the private 
investors shall be established by an independent expert selected 
via an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call; 
(c) in the case of asymmetric loss-sharing between public and private 
investors, the first loss assumed by the public investor shall be 
capped at 25 % of the total investment; 
( 1 ) Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the 
European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the 
Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general 
provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European 
Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries 
Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 
20.12.2013, p. 320).

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 45 
▼B
(d) in the case of guarantees to private investors in urban development 
projects, the guarantee rate shall be limited to 80 % and total losses 
assumed by a Member State shall be capped at 25 % of the 
underlying guaranteed portfolio; 
(e)  the investors shall be allowed to be represented in the governance 
bodies of the urban development fund, such as the supervisory 
board or the advisory committee; 
(f) the urban development fund shall be established according to the 
applicable laws. The Member State shall provide for a due diligence 
process in order to ensure a commercially sound investment strategy 
for the purpose of implementing the urban development aid 
measure. 
9. Urban 
development 
funds 
shall 
be 
managed 
on 

commercial 
basis 
and shall ensure profit-driven financing decisions. This is considered to 
be the case when the managers of the urban development fund fulfill the 
following conditions: 
(a)  the managers of urban development funds shall be obliged by law 
or contract to act with the diligence of a professional manager in 
good faith and avoiding conflicts of interest; best practices and 
regulatory supervision shall apply; 
(b)  the remuneration of the managers of urban development funds shall 
conform to market practices. This requirement is considered to be 
met where a manager is selected through an open, transparent and 
non-discriminatory call, based on objective criteria linked to 
experience, expertise and operational and financial capacity; 
(c)  the managers of urban development funds shall receive a remuner­
ation linked to performance, or shall share part of the investment 
risks by co-investing own resources so as to ensure that their 
interests are permanently aligned with the interests of the public 
investors; 
(d) the  managers  of  urban  development  funds  shall  set  out  an 
investment strategy, criteria and the proposed timing of investments 
in urban development projects, establishing the ex ante financial 
viability and their expected impact on urban development; 
(e) a clear and realistic exit strategy shall exist for each equity and 
quasi-equity investment. 
10. Where 
an 
urban 
development 
fund 
provides 
loans 
or 
guarantees 
to urban development projects, the following conditions shall be 
fulfilled: 
(a)  in the case of loans, the nominal amount of the loan is taken into 
account in calculating the maximum investment amount for the 
purposes of paragraph 3 of this Article; 
(b) in the case of guarantees, the nominal amount of the underlying 
loan is taken into account in calculating the maximum investment 
amount 
 
for the purposes of paragraph 3 of this Article. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 46 
▼  
B
11.  The Member State may assign the implementation of the urban 
development aid measure to an entrusted entity. 
SECTION 2 
Aid to SMEs 
Article 17 
Investment aid to SMEs 
1. 
Investment aid to SMEs operating inside or outside the territory of 
the Union shall be compatible with the internal market within the 
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from 
the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided 
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are 
fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be either or both of the following: 
(a) the costs of investment in tangible and intangible assets; 
(b) the estimated wage costs of employment directly created by the 
investment project, calculated over a period of two years. 
3. 
In order to be considered an eligible cost for the purposes of this 
Article, an investment shall consist of the following: 
(a) an investment in tangible and/or intangible assets relating to the 
setting-up of a new establishment, the extension of an existing 
establishment, diversification of the output of an establishment 
into new additional products or a fundamental change in the 
overall production process of an existing establishment; or 
(b) the acquisition of the assets belonging to an establishment, where 
the following conditions are fulfilled: 
— the establishment has closed or would have closed had it not 
been purchased; 
— the assets are purchased from third parties unrelated to the 
buyer; 
— the transaction takes place under market conditions. 
Where a member of the family of the original owner, or an employee, 
takes over a small enterprise, the condition that the assets shall be 
bought from third parties unrelated to the buyer shall be waived. The 
sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking shall not constitute 
investment. 
4. Intangible 
assets 
shall 
fulfil 
all 
of 
the 
following 
conditions: 
(a) they shall be used exclusively in the establishment receiving the aid; 
(b) they shall be regarded as amortizable assets; 
(c)  they shall be purchased under market conditions from third parties 
unrelated to the buyer; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 47 
▼  
B
(d) they shall be included in the assets of the undertaking for at least 
three years; 
5. Employment 
directly 
created 
by 
an 
investment 
project 
shall 
fulfil 
the following conditions: 
(a) it shall be created within three years of completion of the 
investment; 
(b) there shall be a net increase in the number of employees in the 
establishment concerned, compared with the average over the 
previous 12 months; 
(c) it shall be maintained during a minimum period of three years from 
the date the post was first filled. 
6. The 
aid 
intensity 
shall 
not 
exceed: 
(a)  20 % of the eligible costs in the case of small enterprises; 
(b) 10 % of the eligible costs in the case of medium-sized enterprises. 
Article 18 
Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs 
1. 
Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs shall be compatible with 
the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
3.  The eligible costs shall be the costs of consultancy services 
provided by external consultants. 
4. The 
services 
concerned 
shall 
not 
be 

continuous 
or 
periodic 
activity nor relate to the undertaking's usual operating costs, such as 
routine tax consultancy services, regular legal services or advertising. 
Article 19 
Aid to SMEs for participation in fairs 
1. Aid 
to 
SMEs 
for 
participation 
in 
fairs 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and 
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of 
the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs incurred for renting, setting up 
and running the stand for the participation of an undertaking in any 
particular fair or exhibition. 
3. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 48 
▼  
B
Article 20 
Aid for cooperation costs incurred by SMEs participating in 
European Territorial Cooperation projects 
1. Aid 
for 
cooperation 
costs 
incurred 
by 
SMEs 
participating 
in 
the 
European Territorial Cooperation projects covered by Regulation (EC) 
No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this 
Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) costs for organisational cooperation including the cost of staff and 
offices to the extent that it is linked to the cooperation project; 
(b) costs of advisory and support services linked to cooperation and 
delivered by external consultants and service providers; 
(c) travel expenses, costs of equipment and investment expenditure 
directly related to the project and depreciation of tools and 
equipment used directly for the project. 
3.  The services referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall not be a 
continuous or periodic activity nor relate to the undertaking's usual 
operating costs, such as routine tax consultancy services, regular legal 
services or routine advertising. 
4. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
SECTION 3 
Aid for access to finance for SMEs 
Article 21 
Risk finance aid 
1. Risk 
finance 
aid 
schemes 
in 
favour 
of 
SMEs 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the 
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  At the level of financial intermediaries, risk finance aid to inde­
pendent private investors may take one of the following forms: 
(a) equity or quasi-equity, or financial endowment to provide risk 
finance investments directly or indirectly to eligible undertakings; 
(b) loans to provide risk finance investments directly or indirectly to 
eligible undertakings; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 49 
▼  
B
(c)  guarantees to cover losses from risk finance investments directly or 
indirectly to eligible undertakings. 
3. 
At the level of independent private investors, risk finance aid may 
take the forms mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article, or be in the 
form of tax incentives to private investors who are natural persons 
providing risk finance directly or indirectly to eligible undertakings. 
4. At 
the 
level 
of 
eligible 
undertakings, 
risk 
finance 
aid 
may 
take 
the 
form of equity, quasi-equity investments, loans, guarantees, or a mix 
thereof. 
5.  Eligible undertakings shall be undertakings which at the time of 
the initial risk finance investment are unlisted SMEs and fulfil at least 
one of the following conditions: 
(a)  they have not been operating in any market; 
(b) they have been operating in any market for less than 7 years 
following their first commercial sale; 
(c) they require an initial risk finance investment which, based on a 
business plan prepared in view of entering a new product or 
geographical market, is higher than 50 % of their average annual 
turnover in the preceding 5 years. 
6. The 
risk 
finance 
aid 
may 
also 
cover 
follow-on 
investments 
made 
in eligible undertakings, including after the 7 year period mentioned in 
paragraph 5(b), if the following cumulative conditions are fulfilled: 
(a) the total amount of risk finance mentioned in paragraph 9 is not 
exceeded; 
(b)  the possibility of follow-on investments was foreseen in the original 
business plan; 
(c) the undertaking receiving follow-on investments has not become 
linked, within the meaning of Article 3(3) of Annex I with 
another undertaking other than the financial intermediary or the 
independent private investor providing risk finance under the 
measure, unless the new entity fulfils the conditions of the SME 
definition. 
7. For 
equity 
and 
quasi-equity 
investments 
in 
eligible 
undertakings, 

risk finance measure may provide support for replacement capital only 
if the latter is combined with new capital representing at least 50 % of 
each investment round into the eligible undertakings. 
8. 
For equity and quasi-equity investments as referred to in paragraph 
2(a), no more than 30 % of the financial intermediary's aggregate capital 
contributions and uncalled committed capital may be used for liquidity 
management purposes. 
9. The 
total 
amount 
of 
risk 
finance 
referred 
to 
in 
paragraph 

shall 
not exceed EUR 15 million per eligible undertaking under any risk 
finance measure. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 50 
▼  
B
10. For 
risk 
finance 
measures 
providing 
equity, 
quasi-equity 
or 
loan 
investments to eligible undertakings, the risk finance measure shall 
leverage additional finance from independent private investors at the 
level of the financial intermediaries or the eligible undertakings, so as 
to achieve an aggregate private participation rate reaching the following 
minimum thresholds: 
(a)  10 % of the risk finance provided to the eligible undertakings prior 
to their first commercial sale on any market; 
(b) 40 % of the risk finance provided to the eligible undertakings 
referred to in paragraph 5(b) of this Article; 
(c)  60 % of the risk finance for investment provided to eligible under­
takings mentioned in paragraph 5(c) and for follow-on investments 
in eligible undertakings after the 7-year period mentioned in 
paragraph 5(b). 
11. 
Where a risk finance measure is implemented through a financial 
intermediary targeting eligible undertakings at different development 
stages as referred to in paragraph 10 and does not provide for private 
capital participation at the level of the eligible undertakings the financial 
intermediary shall achieve a private participation rate that represents at 
least the weighted average based on the volume of the individual 
investments in the underlying portfolio and resulting from the appli­
cation of the minimum participation rates to such investments as 
referred to in paragraph 10. 
12. A 
risk 
finance 
measure 
shall 
not 
discriminate 
between 
financial 
intermediaries on the basis of their place of establishment or incor­
poration in any Member State. Financial intermediaries may be 
required to fulfil predefined criteria objectively justified by the nature 
of the investments. 
13. A 
risk 
finance 
measure 
shall 
fulfil 
the 
following 
conditions: 
(a) it shall be implemented via one or more financial intermediaries, 
except for tax incentives to private investors in respect of their 
direct investments into eligible undertakings; 
(b)  financial intermediaries, as well as investors or fund managers shall 
be selected through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call 
which is made in accordance with applicable Union and national 
laws and aimed at establishing appropriate risk-reward sharing 
arrangements whereby, for investments other than guarantees, asym­
metric profit sharing shall be given preference over downside 
protection; 
(c) in the case of asymmetric loss-sharing between public and private 
investors, the first loss assumed by the public investor shall be 
capped at 25 % of the total investment; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 51 
▼  
B
(d)  in the case of guarantees falling under point 2(c), the guarantee rate 
shall be limited to 80 % and total losses assumed by a Member 
State shall be capped at a maximum of 25 % of the underlying 
guaranteed portfolio. Only guarantees covering expected losses of 
the underlying guaranteed portfolio can be provided for free. If a 
guarantee also comprises coverage of unexpected losses, the 
financial intermediary shall pay, for the part of the guarantee 
covering unexpected losses, a market-conform guarantee premium. 
14. Risk 
finance 
measures 
shall 
ensure 
profit-driven 
financing 
deci­
sions. This is considered to be the case where all of the following 
conditions are fulfilled: 
(a) financial  intermediaries  shall  be  established  according  to  the 
applicable laws. 
(b) the Member State, or the entity entrusted with the implementation 
of the measure, shall provide for a due diligence process in order to 
ensure a commercially sound investment strategy for the purpose of 
implementing the risk finance measure, including an appropriate 
risk diversification policy aimed at achieving economic viability 
and efficient scale in terms of size and territorial scope of the 
relevant portfolio of investments; 
(c) risk finance provided to the eligible undertakings shall be based on 
a viable business plan, containing details of product, sales and 
profitability development, establishing ex-ante financial viability; 
(d) a clear and realistic exit strategy shall exist for each equity and 
quasi-equity investment. 
15. Financial 
intermediaries 
shall 
be 
managed 
on 

commercial 
basis. 
This requirement is considered to be fulfilled where the financial inter­
mediary and, depending on the type of risk finance measure, the fund 
manager, fulfil the following conditions: 
(a) they shall be obliged by law or contract to act with the diligence of 
a professional manager in good faith and avoiding conflicts of 
interest; best practices and regulatory supervision shall apply; 
(b) their  remuneration  shall  conform  to  market  practices.  This 
requirement is presumed to be met where the manager or the 
financial intermediary is selected through an open, transparent and 
non-discriminatory selection call, based on objective criteria linked 
to experience, expertise and operational and financial capacity; 
(c) they shall receive a remuneration linked to performance, or shall 
share part of the investment risks by co-investing own resources so 
as to ensure that their interests are permanently aligned with the 
interests of the public investor; 
(d) they shall set out an investment strategy, criteria and the proposed 
timing of investments; 
(e) investors shall be allowed to be represented in the governance 
bodies of the investment fund, such as the supervisory board or 
the advisory committee. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 52 
▼  
B
16. 
►M1 A risk finance measure providing guarantees or loans to 
eligible undertakings or providing quasi-equity investments structured as 
debt in eligible undertakings, shall fulfil the following conditions: ◄ 
(a)  as a result of the measure, the financial intermediary shall undertake 
investments that would not have been carried out or would have 
been carried out in a restricted or different manner without the aid. 
The financial intermediary shall be able to demonstrate that it 
operates a mechanism that ensures that all the advantages are 
passed on to the largest extent to the final beneficiaries in the 
form of higher volumes of financing, riskier portfolios, lower 
collateral requirements, lower guarantee premiums or lower 
interest rates; 
▼M1 
(b) in the case of loans and quasi-equity investments structured as debt, 
the nominal amount of the instrument is taken into account in 
calculating the maximum investment amount for the purposes of 
paragraph 9; 
▼B 
(c) in the case of guarantees, the nominal amount of the underlying 
loan is taken into account in calculating the maximum investment 
amount for the purposes of paragraph 9. The guarantee shall not 
exceed 80 % of the underlying loan. 
17. A 
Member 
State 
may 
assign 
the 
implementation 
of 

risk 
finance 
measure to an entrusted entity. 
18. Risk 
finance 
aid 
for 
SMEs 
that 
do 
not 
fulfil 
the 
conditions 
laid 
down in paragraph 5 shall be compatible with the internal market within 
the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from 
the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided 
that 
(a)  at the level of the SMEs, the aid fulfils the conditions laid down in 
Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013; and 
(b) all the conditions laid down in the present Article, with the 
exception of those set out in paragraphs 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11, are 
fulfilled; and 
(c) for risk finance measures providing equity, quasi-equity or loan 
investments to eligible undertakings, the measure shall leverage 
additional financing from independent private investors at the 
level of the financial intermediaries or the SMEs, so as to achieve 
an aggregate private participation rate reaching at least 60 % of the 
risk finance provided to the SMEs. 
Article 22 
Aid for start-ups 
1. Start-up 
aid 
schemes 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal 
market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
▼M1 
2. Eligible 
undertakings 
shall 
be 
any 
unlisted 
small 
enterprise 
up 
to 
five years following its registration, which fulfils the following 
conditions: 
(a) it has not taken over the activity of another enterprise; 
(b) it has not yet distributed profits; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 53 
▼  
M1
(c) it has not been formed through a merger. 
For eligible undertakings that are not subject to registration, the five 
year eligibility period may be considered to start from the moment when 
the enterprise either starts its economic activity or is liable to tax for its 
economic activity. 
By way of derogation from point (c) of the first subparagraph, enter­
prises formed through a merger between undertakings eligible for aid 
under this Article shall also be considered eligible undertakings up to 
five years from the date of registration of the oldest enterprise partici­
pating in the merger. 
▼B 
3. 
Start-up aid shall take the form of: 
(a) loans with interest rates which are not conform with market 
conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to a maximum 
nominal amount of EUR 1 million, or EUR 1,5 million for under­
takings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, or EUR 2 million for undertakings 
established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty. For loans with a duration 
comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amounts may 
be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above by the ratio 
between 10 years and the actual duration of the loan. For loans 
with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum amount shall 
be the same as for loans with a duration of 5 years; 
(b) guarantees  with  premiums  which  are  not  conform  with  market 
conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to maximum EUR 
1,5 million of amount guaranteed, or EUR 2,25 million for under­
takings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, or EUR 3 million for undertakings 
established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty. For guarantees with a duration 
comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amount guaran­
teed amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above by 
the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the guarantee. 
For guarantees with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum 
amount guaranteed shall be the same as for guarantees with a 
duration of 5 years. The guarantee shall not exceed 80 % of the 
underlying loan. 
(c) grants, including equity or quasi equity investment, interests rate 
and guarantee premium reductions up to EUR 0,4 million gross 
grant equivalent or EUR 0,6 million for undertakings established 
in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the 
Treaty, or EUR 0,8 million for undertakings established in assisted 
areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty. 
4. A 
beneficiary 
can 
receive 
support 
through 

mix 
of 
the 
aid 
instruments referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, provided that 
the proportion of the amount granted through one aid instrument, 
calculated on the basis of the maximum aid amount allowed for that 
instrument, is taken into account in order to determine the residual 
proportion of the maximum aid amount allowed for the other 
instruments forming part of such a mixed instrument. 
5. For 
small 
and 
innovative 
enterprises, 
the 
maximum 
amounts 
set 
out in paragraph 3 may be doubled. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 54 
▼B  
Article 23 
Aid to alternative trading platforms specialised in SMEs 
1. Aid 
in 
favour 
of 
alternative 
trading 
platforms 
specialised 
in 
SMEs 
shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of 
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification 
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid 
down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
Where the platform operator is a small enterprise, the aid measure 
may take the form of start-up aid to the platform operator, in which case 
the conditions laid down in Article 22 shall apply. 
The aid measure may take the form of tax incentives to independent 
private investors that are natural persons in respect of their risk finance 
investments made through an alternative trading platform into under­
takings eligible under the conditions laid down in Article 21. 
Article 24 
Aid for scouting costs 
1. Aid 
for 
scouting 
costs 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal 
market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs for initial screening and formal 
due diligence undertaken by managers of financial intermediaries or 
investors to identify eligible undertakings pursuant to Articles 21 and 22. 
3. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
SECTION 4 
Aid for research and development and innovation 
Article 25 
Aid for research and development projects 
▼M1 
1. Aid 
for 
research 
and 
development 
projects, 
including 
projects 
having received a Seal of Excellence quality label under the Horizon 
2020 SME-instrument, shall be compatible with the internal market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
▼B 
2. The 
aided 
part 
of 
the 
research 
and 
development 
project 
shall 
completely fall within one or more of the following categories: 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 55 
▼  
B
(a) fundamental research; 
(b) industrial research; 
(c) experimental development; 
(d) feasibility studies. 
3. The 
eligible 
costs 
of 
research 
and 
development 
projects 
shall 
be 
allocated to a specific category of research and development and shall 
be the following: 
(a) personnel costs: researchers, technicians and other supporting staff 
to the extent employed on the project; 
(b)  costs of instruments and equipment to the extent and for the period 
used for the project. Where such instruments and equipment are not 
used for their full life for the project, only the depreciation costs 
corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of 
generally accepted accounting principles are considered as eligible. 
(c)  Costs for of buildings and land, to the extent and for the duration 
period used for the project. With regard to buildings, only the 
depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as 
calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles 
are considered as eligible. For land, costs of commercial transfer or 
actually incurred capital costs are eligible. 
(d) costs  of  contractual  research, knowledge  and  patents  bought  or 
licensed from outside sources at arm's length conditions, as well 
as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively 
for the project; 
(e) additional overheads and other operating expenses, including costs 
of materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a 
result of the project; 
4.  The eligible costs for feasibility studies shall be the costs of the 
study. 
5. The 
aid 
intensity 
for 
each 
beneficiary 
shall 
not 
exceed: 
(a)  100 % of the eligible costs for fundamental research; 
(b) 50 % of the eligible costs for industrial research; 
(c)  25 % of the eligible costs for experimental development; 
(d) 50 % of the eligible costs for feasibility studies. 
6. The 
aid 
intensities 
for 
industrial 
research 
and 
experimental 
devel­
opment may be increased up to a maximum aid intensity of 80 % of the 
eligible costs as follows: 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 56 
▼  
B
(a) by 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises and by 20 
percentage points for small enterprises; 
(b) by  15  percentage  points  if  one  of  the  following  conditions  is 
fulfilled: 
(i) the project involves effective collaboration: 
— between undertakings among which at least one is an SME, 
or is carried out in at least two Member States, or in a 
Member State and in a Contracting Party of the EEA 
Agreement, and no single undertaking bears more than 
70 % of the eligible costs, or 
— between  an  undertaking  and  one  or  more  research and 
knowledge-dissemination organisations, where the latter 
bear at least 10 % of the eligible costs and have the right 
to publish their own research results; 
(ii) the results of the project are widely disseminated through 
conferences, publication, open access repositories, or free or 
open source software. 
7. The 
aid 
intensities 
for 
feasibility 
studies 
may 
be 
increased 
by 
10 
percentage points for medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage 
points for small enterprises; 
Article 26 
Investment aid for research infrastructures 
1. 
Aid for the construction or upgrade of research infrastructures that 
perform economic activities shall be compatible with the internal market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Where 

research 
infrastructure 
pursues 
both 
economic 
and 
non- 
economic activities, the financing, costs and revenues of each type of 
activity shall be accounted for separately on the basis of consistently 
applied and objectively justifiable cost accounting principles. 
3.  The price charged for the operation or use of the infrastructure 
shall correspond to a market price. 
4. Access 
to 
the 
infrastructure 
shall 
be 
open 
to 
several 
users 
and 
be 
granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. Undertakings 
which have financed at least 10 % of the investment costs of the infra­
structure may be granted preferential access under more favourable 
conditions. In order to avoid overcompensation, such access shall be 
proportional to the undertaking's contribution to the investment costs 
and these conditions shall be made publicly available. 
5. 
The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in intangible and 
tangible assets. 
6. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 57 
▼  
B
7. Where 

research 
infrastructure 
receives 
public 
funding 
for 
both 
economic and non-economic activities, Member States shall put in place 
a monitoring and claw-back mechanism in order to ensure that the 
applicable aid intensity is not exceeded as a result of an increase in 
the share of economic activities compared to the situation envisaged at 
the time of awarding the aid. 
Article 27 
Aid for innovation clusters 
1. Aid 
for 
innovation 
clusters 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
for 
innovation 
clusters 
shall 
be 
granted 
exclusively 
to 
the 
legal entity operating the innovation cluster (cluster organisation). 
3. Access 
to 
the 
cluster's 
premises, 
facilities 
and 
activities 
shall 
be 
open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non-discrimi­
natory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 10 % of the 
investment costs of the innovation cluster may be granted preferential 
access under more favourable conditions. In order to avoid overcom­
pensation, such access shall be proportional to the undertaking's 
contribution to the investment costs and these conditions shall be 
made publicly available. 
4.  The fees charged for using the cluster's facilities and for partici­
pating in the cluster's activities shall correspond to the market price or 
reflect their costs. 
5. 
Investment aid may be granted for the construction or upgrade of 
innovation clusters. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in 
intangible and tangible assets. 
6.  The aid intensity of investment aid for innovation clusters shall 
not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. The aid intensity may be 
increased by 15 percentage points for innovation clusters located in 
assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the 
Treaty and by 5 percentage points for innovation clusters located in 
assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty 
7.  Operating aid may be granted for the operation of innovation 
clusters. It shall not exceed 10 years. 
8. The 
eligible 
costs 
of 
operating 
aid 
for 
innovation 
clusters 
shall 
be 
the personnel and administrative costs (including overhead costs) 
relating to: 
(a) animation  of  the  cluster  to  facilitate collaboration,  information 
sharing and the provision or channelling of specialised and 
customised business support services; 
(b) marketing of the cluster to increase participation of new under­
takings or organisations and to increase visibility; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 58 
▼  
B
(c) management  of  the  cluster's  facilities;  organisation  of  training 
programmes, workshops and conferences to support knowledge 
sharing and networking and transnational cooperation. 
9.  The aid intensity of operating aid shall not exceed 50 % of the 
total eligible costs during the period over which the aid is granted. 
Article 28 
Innovation aid for SMEs 
1.  Innovation aid for SMEs shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall 
be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter 
I are fulfilled: 
2. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) costs for obtaining, validating and defending patents and other 
intangible assets; 
(b) costs for secondment of highly qualified personnel from a research 
and knowledge-dissemination organization or a large enterprise, 
working on research, development and innovation activities in a 
newly created function within the beneficiary and not replacing 
other personnel; 
(c) costs for innovation advisory and support services; 
3. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
4.  In the particular case of aid for innovation advisory and support 
services the aid intensity can be increased up to 100 % of the eligible 
costs provided that the total amount of aid for innovation advisory and 
support services does not exceed EUR 200 000 per undertaking within 
any three year period. 
Article 29 
Aid for process and organisational innovation 
1. Aid 
for 
process 
and 
organisational 
innovation 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the 
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
to 
large 
undertakings 
shall 
only 
be 
compatible 
if 
they 
effec­
tively collaborate with SMEs in the aided activity and the collaborating 
SMEs incur at least 30 % of the total eligible costs. 
3. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 59 
▼  
B
(a) personnel costs; 
(b) costs of instruments, equipment, buildings and land to the extent 
and for the period used for the project; 
(c) costs of contractual research, knowledge and patents bought or 
licensed from outside sources at arm's length conditions; 
(d) additional overheads and other operating costs, including costs of 
materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result 
of the project. 
4.  The aid intensity shall not exceed 15 % of the eligible costs for 
large undertakings and 50 % of the eligible costs for SMEs. 
Article 30 
Aid for research and development in the fishery and aquaculture 
sector 
1. Aid 
for 
research 
and 
development 
in 
the 
fishery 
and 
aquaculture 
sector shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning 
of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notifi­
cation requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the 
conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  The aided project shall be of interest to all undertakings in the 
particular sector or sub-sector concerned. 
3.  Prior to the date of the start of the aided project the following 
information shall be published on the internet: 
(a) that the aided project will be carried out; 
(b) the goals of the aided project; 
(c)  the approximate date for the publication of the results expected from 
the aided project and its place of publication on the internet; 
(d) a reference that the results of the aided project will be available to 
all undertakings active in the particular sector or sub-sector 
concerned at no cost. 
4. 
The results of the aided project shall be made available on internet 
from the end date of the aided project or the date on which any 
information concerning those results is given to members of any 
particular organisation, whatever comes first. The results shall remain 
available on internet for a period of at least 5 years starting from the end 
date of the aided project. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 60 
▼  
B
5. Aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
directly 
to 
the 
research 
and 
knowledge- 
dissemination organisation and shall not involve the direct granting of 
non-research related aid to an undertaking producing, processing or 
marketing fishery or aquaculture products. 
6. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
those 
provided 
in 
Article 
25(3). 
7. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible costs. 
SECTION 5 
Training aid 
Article 31 
Training aid 
1.  Training aid shall be compatible with the internal market within 
the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from 
the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided 
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are 
fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
for 
training 
which 
undertakings 
carry 
out 
to comply with national mandatory standards on training. 
3. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) trainers' personnel costs, for the hours during which the trainers 
participate in the training; 
▼M1 
(b) trainers' and trainees' operating costs directly relating to the training 
project such as travel expenses, accommodation costs, materials and 
supplies directly related to the project, depreciation of tools and 
equipment, to the extent that they are used exclusively for the 
training project; 
▼B 
(c) costs of advisory services linked to the training project; 
(d) trainees' personnel costs and general indirect costs (administrative 
costs, rent, overheads) for the hours during which the trainees 
participate in the training. 
4. The 
aid 
intensity 
shall 
not 
exceed 
50 

of 
the 
eligible 
costs. 
It 
may be increased, up to a maximum aid intensity of 70 % of the eligible 
costs, as follows: 
(a) by 10 percentage points if the training is given to workers with 
disabilities or disadvantaged workers; 
(b)  by 10 percentage points if the aid is granted to medium-sized enter­
prises and by 20 percentage points if the aid is granted to small 
enterprises. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 61 
▼  
B
5. 
Where the aid is granted in the maritime transport sector, the aid 
intensity may be increased to 100 % of the eligible costs provided that 
the following conditions are met: 
(a) the trainees are not active members of the crew but are super­
numerary on board; and 
(b) the  training is carried out  on  board  of ships  entered in  Union 
registers. 
SECTION 6 
Aid for disadvantaged workers and for workers with disabilities 
Article 32 
Aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged workers in the form of 
wage subsidies 
1. Aid 
schemes 
for 
the 
recruitment 
of 
disadvantaged 
workers 
shall 
be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this 
Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
Eligible costs shall be the wage costs over a maximum period of 
12 months following recruitment of a disadvantaged worker. Where the 
worker concerned is a severely disadvantaged worker, eligible costs 
shall be the wage costs over a maximum period of 24 months 
following recruitment. 
3. 
Where the recruitment does not represent a net increase, compared 
with the average over the previous 12 months, in the number of 
employees in the undertaking concerned, the post or posts shall have 
fallen vacant following voluntary departure, disability, retirement on 
grounds of age, voluntary reduction of working time or lawful 
dismissal for misconduct and not as a result of redundancy. 
4. Except 
in 
the 
case 
of 
lawful 
dismissal 
for 
misconduct, 
the 
disadvantaged workers shall be entitled to continuous employment for 
a minimum period consistent with the national legislation concerned or 
any collective agreements governing employment contracts. 
5. If 
the 
period 
of 
employment 
is 
shorter 
than 
12 
months, 
or 
24 
months in the case of severely disadvantaged workers, the aid shall 
be reduced pro rata accordingly. 
6. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
Article 33 
Aid for the employment of workers with disabilities in the form of 
wage subsidies 
1. Aid 
for 
the 
employment 
of 
workers 
with 
disabilities 
shall 
be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this 
Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 62 
▼  
B
2. 
Eligible costs shall be the wage costs over any given period during 
which the worker with disabilities is employed. 
3. 
Where the recruitment does not represent a net increase, compared 
with the average over the previous 12 months, in the number of 
employees in the undertaking concerned, the post or posts shall have 
fallen vacant following voluntary departure, disabilities, retirement on 
grounds of age, voluntary reduction of working time or lawful dismissal 
for misconduct and not as a result of redundancy. 
4. Except 
in 
the 
case 
of 
lawful 
dismissal 
for 
misconduct, 
the 
workers 
with disabilities shall be entitled to continuous employment for a 
minimum period consistent with the national legislation concerned or 
any collective agreements which are legally binding for the undertaking 
and governing employment contracts. 
5. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 75 % of the eligible costs. 
Article 34 
Aid for compensating the additional costs of employing workers 
with disabilities 
1. Aid 
for 
compensating 
the 
additional 
costs 
of 
employing 
workers 
with disabilities shall be compatible with the internal market within the 
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the 
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the 
conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) costs of adapting the premises; 
(b) costs of employing staff solely for time spent on the assistance of 
the workers with disabilities and of training such staff to assist 
workers with disabilities; 
(c) costs of adapting or acquiring equipment, or acquiring and vali­
dating software for use by workers with disabilities, including 
adapted or assistive technology facilities, which are additional to 
those which the beneficiary would have incurred had it employed 
workers who are not workers with disabilities; 
(d) costs directly linked to transport of workers with disabilities to the 
working place and for work related activities; 
(e) wage costs for the hours spent by a worker with disabilities on 
rehabilitation; 
(f)  where the beneficiary provides sheltered employment, the costs of 
constructing, installing or modernising the production units of the 
undertaking concerned, and any costs of administration and 
transport, provided that such costs result directly from the 
employment of workers with disabilities. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 63 
▼  
B
3. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible costs. 
Article 35 
Aid for compensating the costs of assistance provided to 
disadvantaged workers 
1. Aid 
for 
compensating 
the 
costs 
of 
assistance 
provided 
to 
disadvantaged workers shall be compatible with the internal market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempt from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs of: 
(a) employing staff solely for time spent on the assistance of the 
disadvantaged workers over a maximum period of 12 months 
following recruitment of a disadvantaged worker or over a 
maximum period of 24 months following recruitment of a 
severely disadvantaged worker; 
(b) of training such staff to assist disadvantaged workers. 
3. The 
assistance 
provided 
shall 
consist 
of 
measures 
to 
support 
the 
disadvantaged worker's autonomy and adaptation to the work 
environment, in accompanying the worker in social and administrative 
procedures, facilitation of communication with the entrepreneur and 
managing conflicts. 
4. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
SECTION 7 
Aid for environmental protection 
Article 36 
Investment aid enabling undertakings to go beyond Union 
standards for environmental protection or to increase the level of 

environmental protection in the absence of Union standards 
1. Investment 
aid 
enabling 
undertakings 
to 
go 
beyond 
Union 
standards for environmental protection or to increase the level of envi­
ronmental protection in the absence of Union standards shall be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
investment 
shall 
fulfil 
one 
of 
the 
following 
conditions: 
(a) it shall enable the beneficiary to increase the level of environmental 
protection resulting from its activities by going beyond the 
applicable Union standards, irrespective of the presence of 
mandatory national standards that are more stringent than the 
Union standards; 
(b) it shall enable the beneficiary to increase the level of environmental 
protection resulting from its activities in the absence of Union stan­
dards. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 64 
▼  
B
3.  Aid shall not be granted where investments are undertaken to 
ensure that undertakings comply with Union standards already 
adopted and not yet in force. 
4. By 
way 
of 
derogation 
from 
paragraph 
3, 
aid 
may 
be 
granted 
for 
(a) the acquisition of new transport vehicles for road, railway, inland 
waterway and maritime transport complying with adopted Union 
standards, provided that the acquisition occurs before those 
standards enter into force and that, once mandatory, they do not 
apply to vehicles already purchased before that date. 
(b) retrofitting of existing transport vehicles for road, railway, inland 
waterway and maritime transport, provided that the Union standards 
were not yet in force at the date of entry into operation of those 
vehicles and that, once mandatory, they do not apply retroactively 
to those vehicles. 
5. 
The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to 
go beyond the applicable Union standards or to increase the level of 
environmental protection in the absence of Union standards. They shall 
be determined as follows: 
(a) where the costs of investing in environmental protection can be 
identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, 
this environmental protection-related cost shall constitute the 
eligible costs; 
(b)  in all other cases, the costs of investing in environmental protection 
are identified by reference to a similar, less environmentally friendly 
investment that would have been credibly carried out without the 
aid. The difference between the costs of both investments identifies 
the environmental protection-related cost and constitutes the eligible 
costs. 
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of 
environmental protection shall not be eligible. 
6. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 40 % of the eligible costs. 
7. The 
aid 
intensity 
may 
be 
increased 
by 
10 
percentage 
points 
for 
aid 
granted to medium sized undertakings and by 20 percentage points for 
aid granted to small undertakings. 
8.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
Article 37 
Investment aid for early adaptation to future Union standards 
1. Aid 
encouraging 
undertakings 
to 
comply 
with 
new 
Union 
standards which increase the level of environmental protection and are 
not yet in force shall be compatible with the internal market within the 
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the 
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that 
the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 65 
▼  
B
2. 
The Union standards shall have been adopted and the investment 
shall be implemented and finalised at least one year before the date of 
entry into force of the standard concerned. 
3. 
The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to 
go beyond the applicable Union standards. They shall be determined as 
follows: 
(a) where the costs of investing in environmental protection can be 
identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, 
this environmental protection-related cost shall constitute the 
eligible costs; 
(b)  in all other cases, the costs of investing in environmental protection 
are identified by reference to a similar, less environmentally friendly 
investment that would have been credibly carried out without the 
aid. The difference between the costs of both investments identifies 
the environmental protection-related cost and constitutes the eligible 
costs. 
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of 
environmental protection shall not be eligible. 
4. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed the following: 
(a) 20 % of the eligible costs for small undertakings, 15 % of the 
eligible costs for medium-sized undertakings and 10 % of the 
eligible costs for large undertakings if the implementation and 
finalisation of the investment take place more than three years 
before the date of entry into force of the new Union standard; 
(b) 15 % of the eligible costs for small undertakings, 10 % of the 
eligible costs for medium-sized undertakings and 5 % of the 
eligible costs for large undertakings if the implementation and 
finalisation of the investment take place between one and three 
years before the date of entry into force of the new Union standard. 
5.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
Article 38 
Investment aid for energy efficiency measures 
1. Investment 
aid 
enabling 
undertakings 
to 
achieve 
energy 
efficiency 
shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of 
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification 
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions 
laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
under 
this 
Article 
where 
improvements 
are undertaken to ensure that undertakings comply with Union standards 
already adopted, even if they are not yet in force. 
3. 
The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to 
achieve the higher level of energy efficiency. They shall be determined 
as follows: 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 66 
▼  
B
(a) where the costs of investing in energy efficiency can be identified in 
the total investment cost as a separate investment, this energy effi­
ciency-related cost shall constitute the eligible costs; 
(b) in all other cases, the costs of investing in energy efficiency are 
identified by reference to a similar, less energy efficient investment 
that would have been credibly carried out without the aid. The 
difference between the costs of both investments identifies the 
energy efficiency-related cost and constitutes the eligible costs. 
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of 
energy efficiency shall not be eligible. 
4. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 30 % of the eligible costs. 
5. The 
aid 
intensity 
may 
be 
increased 
by 
20 
percentage 
points 
for 
aid 
granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid 
granted to medium-sized undertakings. 
6.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
Article 39 
Investment aid for energy efficiency projects in buildings 
1. Investment 
aid 
for 
energy 
efficiency 
projects 
in 
buildings 
shall 
be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  Eligible for aid under the present Article are energy efficiency 
projects relating to buildings. 
3.  The eligible costs shall be the overall costs of the energy effi­
ciency project. 
4. 
The aid shall be granted in the form of an endowment, equity, a 
guarantee or loan to an energy efficiency fund or other financial inter­
mediary, which shall fully pass it on to the final beneficiaries being the 
building owners or tenants. 
5.  The aid granted by the energy efficiency fund or other financial 
intermediary to the eligible energy efficiency projects may take the form 
of loans or guarantees. The nominal value of the loan or the amount 
guaranteed shall not exceed EUR 10 million per project at the level of 
the final beneficiaries. The guarantee should not exceed 80 % of the 
underlying loan. 
6. The 
repayment 
by 
the 
building 
owners 
to 
the 
energy 
efficiency 
fund or other financial intermediary shall not be less than the nominal 
value of the loan. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 67 
▼  
B
7. The 
energy 
efficiency 
aid 
shall 
leverage 
additional 
investment 
from private investors reaching at minimum 30 % of the total 
financing provided to an energy efficiency project. When the aid is 
provided by an energy efficiency fund, the leverage of private 
investment can be done at the level of the energy efficiency fund 
and/or at the level of the energy efficiency projects, so as to achieve 
an aggregate minimum 30 % of the total financing provided to an 
energy efficiency project. 
8. 
Member States can set up energy efficiency funds and/or can use 
financial intermediaries when providing energy efficiency aid. The 
following conditions must then be fulfilled: 
(a)  Financial intermediary managers, as well as energy efficiency fund 
managers shall be selected through an open, transparent and non- 
discriminatory call in accordance with applicable Union and 
national laws. In particular, there shall be no discrimination on 
the basis of their place of establishment or incorporation in any 
Member State. Financial intermediaries and energy efficiency fund 
managers may be required to fulfil predefined criteria objectively 
justified by the nature of the investments; 
(b) The independent private investors shall be selected through an open, 
transparent and non-discriminatory call in accordance with 
applicable Union and national laws aimed at establishing the appro­
priate risk-reward sharing arrangements whereby, for investments 
other than guarantees, asymmetric profit-sharing shall be given pref­
erence over downside protection. If the private investors are not 
selected by such a call, the fair rate of return to the private 
investors shall be established by an independent expert selected 
via an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call; 
(c) In the case of asymmetric loss-sharing between public and private 
investors, the first loss assumed by the public investor shall be 
capped at 25 % of the total investment; 
(d) In the case of guarantees, the guarantee rate shall be limited to 80 % 
and total losses assumed by a Member State shall be capped at 
25 %  of  the  underlying  guaranteed  portfolio.  Only  guarantees 
covering the expected losses of the underlying guaranteed 
portfolio can be provided for free. If a guarantee also comprises 
coverage of unexpected losses, the financial intermediary shall pay, 
for the part of the guarantee covering unexpected losses, a market- 
conform guarantee premium; 
(e)  The investors shall be allowed to be represented in the governance 
bodies of the energy efficiency fund or financial intermediary, such 
as the supervisory board or the advisory committee; 
(f) The energy efficiency fund or financial intermediary shall be estab­
lished according to the applicable laws and the Member State shall 
provide for a due diligence process in order to ensure a commer­
cially sound investment strategy for the purpose of implementing 
the energy efficiency aid measure. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 68 
▼  
B
9. Financial 
intermediaries, 
including 
energy 
efficiency 
funds 
shall 
be 
managed on a commercial basis and shall ensure profit-driven financing 
decisions. This is considered to be the case when the financial inter­
mediary and, as the case may be, the managers of the energy efficiency 
fund fulfil the following conditions: 
(a) they are obliged by law or contract to act with the diligence of a 
professional manager in good faith and avoiding conflicts of 
interest; best practices and regulatory supervision shall apply; 
(b) their  remuneration  conforms  with  market  practices.  This 
requirement is considered to be met where the manager is 
selected through an open, transparent and non-discriminatory call, 
based on objective criteria linked to experience, expertise and oper­
ational and financial capacity; 
(c) they shall receive a remuneration linked to performance, or shall 
share part of the investment risks by co-investing own resources so 
as to ensure that their interests are permanently aligned with the 
interests of the public investor; 
(d) they shall set out an investment strategy, criteria and the proposed 
timing of investments in energy efficiency projects, establishing the 
ex-ante
 financial viability and their expected impact on energy effi­
ciency. 
(e) a clear and realistic exit strategy shall exist for the public funds 
invested in the energy efficiency fund or granted to the financial 
intermediary, allowing the market to finance energy efficiency 
projects when the market is ready to do so. 
10. Energy 
efficiency 
improvements 
undertaken 
to 
ensure 
that 
the 
beneficiary complies with Union standards which have already been 
adopted shall not be exempted from the notification requirement 
under this Article. 
Article 40 
Investment aid for high-efficiency cogeneration 
1. Investment aid for high-efficiency cogeneration shall be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
investment 
aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
in 
respect 
of 
newly 
installed 
or refurbished capacities only. 
3. The 
new 
cogeneration 
unit 
shall 
provide 
overall 
primary 
energy 
savings compared to separate production of heat and electricity as 
provided for by Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, 
amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing 
Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC ( 1 ). The improvement of an 
existing cogeneration unit or conversion of an existing power generation 
unit into a cogeneration unit shall result in primary energy savings 
compared to the original situation. 
( 1 ) OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 69 
▼B
4. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
extra 
investment 
costs 
for 
the 
equipment needed for the installation to operate as a high-efficiency 
cogeneration installation, compared to conventional electricity or 
heating installations of the same capacity or the extra investment cost 
to upgrade to a higher efficiency when an existing installation already 
meets the high-efficiency threshold. 
5. The 
aid 
intensity 
shall 
not 
exceed 
45 

of 
the 
eligible 
costs. 
The 
aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted 
to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid granted to 
medium-sized undertakings. 
6.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
Article 41 
Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources 
1. 
Investment aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy 
sources shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning 
of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notifi­
cation requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the 
conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  Investment aid for the production of biofuels shall be exempted 
from the notification requirement only to the extent that the aided 
investments are used for the production of sustainable biofuels other 
than food-based biofuels. However, investment aid to convert existing 
food-based biofuel plants into advanced biofuel plants shall be 
exempted under this Article, provided that the food-based production 
would be reduced commensurate to the new capacity. 
3. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
for 
biofuels 
which 
are 
subject 
to 

supply 
or blending obligation. 
4. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
for 
hydropower 
installations 
that 
do 
not 
comply with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament. 
5. The 
investment 
aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
to 
new 
installations 
only. 
No 
aid shall be granted or paid out after the installation started operations 
and aid shall be independent from the output. 
6. 
The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to 
promote the production of energy from renewable sources. They shall 
be determined as follows: 
(a) where the costs of investing in the production of energy from 
renewable sources can be identified in the total investment cost as 
a separate investment, for instance as a readily identifiable add-on 
component to a pre-existing facility, this renewable energy-related 
cost shall 
 
constitute the eligible costs; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 70 
▼  
B
(b) where the costs of investing in the production of energy from 
renewable sources can be identified by reference to a similar, less 
environmentally friendly investment that would have been credibly 
carried out without the aid, this difference between the costs of both 
investments identifies the renewable energy-related cost and 
constitutes the eligible costs; 
(c) for certain small installations where a less environmentally friendly 
investment cannot be established as plants of a limited size do not 
exist, the total investment costs to achieve a higher level of envi­
ronmental protection shall constitute the eligible costs. 
The costs not directly linked to the achievement of a higher level of 
environmental protection shall not be eligible. 
7. The 
aid 
intensity 
shall 
not 
exceed: 
(a)  45 % of the eligible costs if the eligible costs are calculated on the 
basis of point (6)(a) or point (6)(b); 
(b) 30 % of the eligible cost if the eligible costs are calculated on the 
basis of point point (6)(c). 
8. The 
aid 
intensity 
may 
be 
increased 
by 
20 
percentage 
points 
for 
aid 
granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid 
granted to medium-sized undertakings. 
9.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
10. Where 
aid 
is 
granted 
in 

competitive 
bidding 
process 
on 
the 
basis of clear, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria, the aid 
intensity may reach 100 % of the eligible costs. Such a bidding 
process shall be non-discriminatory and provide for the participation 
of all interested undertakings. The budget related to the bidding 
process shall be a binding constraint in the sense that not all participants 
can receive aid and the aid shall be granted on the basis of the initial 
bid submitted by the bidder, therefore excluding subsequent negoti­
ations. 
Article 42 
Operating aid for the promotion of electricity from renewable 
sources 
1. Operating 
aid 
for 
the 
promotion 
of 
electricity 
from 
renewable 
energy sources shall be compatible with the internal market within the 
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the 
notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that 
the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
in 

competitive 
bidding 
process 
on 
the 
basis 
of clear, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria which shall be open 
to all generators producing electricity from renewable energy sources on 
a non-discriminatory basis. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 71 
▼  
B
3. The 
bidding 
process 
can 
be 
limited 
to 
specific 
technologies 
where 
a process open to all generators would lead to a suboptimal result which 
cannot be addressed in the process design in view of in particular: 
(i) the longer-term potential of a given new and innovative tech­
nology; or 
(ii) the need to achieve diversification; or 
(iii) network constraints and grid stability; or 
(iv) system (integration) costs; or 
(v) the need to avoid distortions on the raw material markets from 
biomass support 
Member States shall carry out a detailed assessment of the applicability 
of such conditions and report it to the Commission according to the 
modalities described in Article 11 (a). 
4.  Aid shall be granted to new and innovative renewable energy 
technologies in a competitive bidding process open to at least one 
such technology on the basis of clear, transparent and non-discrimi­
natory criteria. Such aid shall not be granted for more than 5 % of 
the planned new electricity capacity from renewable energy sources 
per year in total. 
5. 
Aid shall be granted as a premium in addition to the market price 
whereby the generators sell their electricity directly in the market. 
6. Aid 
beneficiaries 
shall 
be 
subject 
to 
standard 
balancing 
responsi­
bilities. Beneficiaries may outsource balancing responsibilities to other 
undertakings on their behalf, such as aggregators. 
7. 
Aid shall not be granted when prices are negative. 
8. Aid 
may 
be 
granted 
in 
the 
absence 
of 

competitive 
bidding 
process as described in paragraph 2 to installations with an installed 
electricity capacity of less than 1 MW for the production of electricity 
from all renewable sources except for wind energy, where aid may be 
granted in the absence of a competitive bidding process as described in 
paragraph 2 to installations with an installed electricity capacity of less 
than 6 MW or to installations with less than 6 generation units. Without 
prejudice to paragraph 9, when aid is granted in the absence of a 
competitive bidding process, the conditions under paragraphs 5, 6 and 
7 shall be respected. In addition, when aid is granted in the absence of a 
competitive bidding process, the conditions under Article 43 paragraphs 
5, 6 and 7 shall be applicable. 
9.  The conditions under paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 shall not apply to 
operating aid granted to installations with an installed electricity 
capacity of less than 500 kW for the production of electricity from 
all renewable sources except for wind energy, where these conditions 
shall not apply to operating aid granted to installations with an installed 
electricity capacity of less than 3 MW or to installations with less than 3 
generation units. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 72 
▼  
B
10.  For the purpose of calculating the above maximum capacities 
referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9, installations with a common 
connection point to the electricity grid shall be considered as one instal­
lation. 
11. 
Aid shall only be granted until the plant generating the electricity 
from renewable sources has been fully depreciated according to 
generally accepted accounting principles. Any investment aid previously 
received must be deducted from the operating aid. 
Article 43 
Operating aid for the promotion of energy from renewable sources 
in small scale installations 
1. 
Operating aid for the promotion of energy from renewable energy 
sources in small scale installations shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
Aid shall only be granted to installations with an installed capacity 
of less than 500 kW for the production of energy from all renewable 
sources except for wind energy, for which aid shall be granted to 
installations with an installed capacity of less than 3 MW or with less 
than 3 generation units and for biofuels, for which aid shall be granted 
to installations with an installed capacity of less than 50 
000 
tonnes/year. For the purpose of calculating those maximum capac­
ities, small scale installations with a common connection point to the 
electricity grid shall be considered as one installation. 
3. Aid 
shall 
only 
be 
granted 
to 
installations 
producing 
sustainable 
biofuels other than food-based biofuels. However, operating aid to 
plants producing food-based biofuels that have started operation 
before 31 December 2013 and are not yet fully depreciated shall be 
exempted under this Article but in any event no later than 2020. 
4. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
for 
biofuels 
which 
are 
subject 
to 

supply 
or blending obligation. 
5. 
The aid per unit of energy shall not exceed the difference between 
the total levelized costs of producing energy from the renewable source 
in question and the market price of the form of energy concerned. The 
levelized costs shall be updated regularly and at least every year. 
6. The 
maximum 
rate 
of 
return 
used 
in 
the 
levelized 
cost 
calculation 
shall not exceed the relevant swap rate plus a premium of 100 basis 
points. The relevant swap rate shall be the swap rate of the currency in 
which the aid is granted for a maturity that reflects the depreciation 
period of the installations supported. 
7. Aid 
shall 
only 
be 
granted 
until 
the 
installation 
has 
been 
fully 
depreciated according to generally accepted accounting principles. 
Any investment aid granted to an installation shall be deducted from 
the operating aid. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 73 
▼  
B
Article 44 
Aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes under 
Directive 2003/96/EC 
1.  Aid schemes in the form of reductions in environmental taxes 
fulfilling the conditions of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 
2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy 
products and electricity ( 1 ) shall be compatible with the internal market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The beneficiaries of the tax reduction shall be selected on the basis 
of transparent and objective criteria and shall pay at least the respective 
minimum level of taxation set by Directive 2003/96/EC. 
3.  Aid schemes in the form of tax reductions shall be based on a 
reduction of the applicable environmental tax rate or on the payment of 
a fixed compensation amount or on a combination of these mechanisms. 
4. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
for 
biofuels 
which 
are 
subject 
to 

supply 
or blending obligation. 
Article 45 
Investment aid for remediation of contaminated sites 
1. Investment 
aid 
to 
undertakings 
repairing 
environmental 
damage 
by 
remediating contaminated sites shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall 
be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
investment 
shall 
lead 
to 
the 
repair 
of 
the 
environmental 
damage, including damage to the quality of the soil or of surface 
water or groundwater. 
3.  Where the legal or physical person liable for the environmental 
damage under the law applicable in each Member State without 
prejudice to the Union rules in this matter — in particular Directive 
2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 
2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and 
remedying of environmental damage ( 2 ) as amended by Directive 
2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive indus­
tries ( 3 ), Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide 
and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and 
Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 
( 1 ) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51. 
( 2 ) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56. 
( 3 ) OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 1.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 74 
▼B 
2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 ( 1 ) and Directive 
2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 
2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 
2004/35/EC ( 2 ) — is identified, that person must finance the remediation 
in accordance with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and no State aid shall be 
granted. Where the person liable under the applicable law is not identified 
or cannot be made to bear the costs, the person responsible for the 
remediation or decontamination work may receive State aid. 
4.  The eligible costs shall be the costs incurred for the remediation 
work, less the increase in the value of the land. All expenditure incurred 
by an undertaking in remediating its site, whether or not such expen­
diture can be shown as a fixed asset on its balance sheet, may be 
considered as eligible investment in the case of the remediation of 
contaminated sites. 
5.  Evaluations of the increase in value of the land resulting from 
remediation shall be carried out by an independent expert. 
6. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible costs. 
Article 46 
Investment aid for energy efficient district heating and cooling 
1. Investment 
aid 
for 
the 
installation 
of 
energy 
efficient 
district 
heating and cooling system shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall 
be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs for the production plant shall be the extra costs 
needed for the construction, expansion and refurbishment of one or 
more generation units to operate as an energy efficient district heating 
and cooling system compared to a conventional production plant. The 
investment shall be an integral part of the energy efficient district 
heating and cooling system. 
3. The 
aid 
intensity 
for 
the 
production 
plant 
shall 
not 
exceed 
45 

of 
the eligible costs. The aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage 
points for aid granted to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points 
for aid granted to medium-sized undertakings. 
4. 
The aid intensity for the production plant may be increased by 15 
percentage points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the 
conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points 
for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
( 1 ) OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114. 
( 2 ) OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p.   
66.

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 75 
▼B
5. The 
eligible 
costs 
for 
the 
distribution 
network 
shall 
be 
the 
investment costs. 
6. 
The aid amount for the distribution network shall not exceed the 
difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit. The 
operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante or 
through a claw-back mechanism. 
Article 47 
Investment aid for waste recycling and re-utilisation 
1. Investment 
aid 
for 
waste 
recycling 
and 
re-utilisation 
shall 
be 
compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) 
of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The investment aid shall be granted for the recycling and re-util­
isation of waste generated by other undertakings. 
3. The 
recycled 
or 
re-used 
materials 
treated 
would 
otherwise 
be 
disposed of, or be treated in a less environmentally friendly manner. 
Aid to waste recovery operations other than recycling shall not be block 
exempted under this Article. 
4. 
The aid shall not indirectly relieve the polluters from a burden that 
should be borne by them under Union law, or from a burden that should 
be considered a normal company cost. 
5. The 
investment 
shall 
not 
merely 
increase 
demand 
for 
the 
materials 
to be recycled without increasing collection of those materials. 
6. 
The investment shall go beyond the state of the art. 
7. 
The eligible costs shall be the extra investment costs necessary to 
realise an investment leading to better or more efficient recycling or re- 
use activities compared to a conventional process of re-use and 
recycling activities with the same capacity that would be constructed 
in the absence the aid. 
8. The 
aid 
intensity 
shall 
not 
exceed 
35 

of 
the 
eligible 
costs. 
The 
aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for aid granted 
to small undertakings and by 10 percentage points for aid granted to 
medium-sized undertakings. 
9.  The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for 
investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of 
Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty. 
10. Aid 
for 
investments 
relating 
to 
the 
recycling 
and 
re-utilisation 
of 
the beneficiary's own waste shall not be exempt from the notification 
requirement under this 
 
Article. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 76 
▼  
B
Article 48 
Investment aid for energy infrastructure 
1.  Investment aid for the construction or upgrade of energy infra­
structure shall be compatible with the internal market within the 
meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from 
the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided 
that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are 
fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
for 
energy 
infrastructure 
located 
in 
assisted 
areas. 
3. The 
energy 
infrastructure 
shall 
be 
subject 
to 
full 
tariff 
and 
access 
regulation according to internal energy market legislation. 
4. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
investment 
costs. 
5. The 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed 
the 
difference 
between 
the 
eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The 
operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante or 
through a claw-back mechanism. 
6. 
Aid for investments in electricity and gas storage projects and oil 
infrastructure shall not be exempt from the notification requirement 
under this Article. 
Article 49 
Aid for environmental studies 
1. Aid 
for 
studies, 
including 
energy 
audits, 
directly 
linked 
to 
investments referred to in this Section shall be compatible with the 
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  The eligible costs shall be the costs of the studies referred to in 
paragraph 1. 
3. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
4.  The aid intensity may be increased by 20 percentage points for 
studies undertaken on behalf of small enterprises and by 10 percentage 
points for studies undertaken on behalf of medium size enterprises. 
5. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
to 
large 
undertakings 
for 
energy 
audits 
carried out under Article 8(4) of the Directive 2012/27/EU, unless the 
energy audit is carried out in addition to the mandatory energy audit 
under that Directive. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 77 
▼  
B
SECTION 8 
Aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural disasters 
Article 50 
Aid schemes to make good the damage caused by certain natural 
disasters 
1. Aid 
schemes 
to 
make 
good 
the 
damage 
caused 
by 
earthquakes, 
avalanches, landslides, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions 
and wild fires of natural origin shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty and shall 
be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
Aid shall be granted subject to the following conditions: 
(a) the competent public authorities of a Member State have formally 
recognised the character of the event as a natural disaster; and 
(b) there is a direct causal link between the natural disaster and the 
damages suffered by the affected undertaking. 
3. Aid 
schemes 
related 
to 

specific 
natural 
disaster 
shall 
be 
introduced within three years following the occurrence of the event. 
Aid on the basis of such schemes shall be granted within four years 
following the occurrence. 
4. The 
costs 
arising 
from 
the 
damage 
incurred 
as 

direct 
consequence of the natural disaster, as assessed by an independent 
expert recognised by the competent national authority or by an 
insurance undertaking shall be eligible costs. Such damage may 
include material damage to assets such as buildings, equipment, 
machinery or stocks and loss of income due to the full or partial 
suspension of activity for a period not exceeding six months from the 
occurrence of the disaster. The calculation of the material damage shall 
be based on the repair cost or economic value of the affected asset 
before the disaster. It shall not exceed the repair cost or the decrease 
in fair market value caused by the disaster, that is to say the difference 
between the property's value immediately before and immediately after 
the occurrence of the disaster. Loss of income shall be calculated on the 
basis of financial data of the affected undertaking (earnings before 
interest and taxes (EBIT), depreciation and labour costs related only 
to the establishment affected by the natural disaster) by comparing the 
financial data for the six months after the occurrence of the disaster with 
the average of three years chosen among the five years preceding the 
occurrence of the disaster (by excluding the two years giving the best 
and the worst financial result) and calculated for the same six months 
period of the year. The damage shall be calculated at the level of the 
individual beneficiary. 
5.  The aid and any other payments received to compensate for the 
damage, including payments under insurance policies, shall not exceed 
100 % of the eligible costs. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 78 
▼  
B
SECTION 9 
Social aid for transport for residents of remote regions 
Article 51 
Social aid for transport for residents of remote regions 
1. Aid 
for 
air 
and 
maritime 
passenger 
transport 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(2)(a) of the Treaty and 
shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of 
the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The entire aid shall be for the benefit of final consumers who have 
their normal residence in remote regions. 
3. The 
aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
for 
passenger 
transport 
on 

route 
linking 
an airport or port in a remote region with another airport or port within 
the European Economic Area. 
4. 
The aid shall be granted without discrimination as to the identity 
of the carrier or type of service and without limitation as to the precise 
route to or from the remote region. 
5. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
price 
of 

return 
ticket 
from 
or 
to 
the remote region, including all taxes and charges invoiced by the 
carrier to the consumer. 
6. 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible costs. 
SECTION 10 
Aid for broadband infrastructures 
Article 52 
Aid for broadband infrastructures 
1. Investment 
aid 
for 
broadband 
network 
development 
shall 
be 
compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(3) of the 
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down 
in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) investment costs for the deployment of a passive broadband infra­
structure; 
(b) investment costs of broadband-related civil engineering works; 
(c) investment costs for the deployment of basic broadband networks; 
and 
(d) investment  costs  for  the  deployment  of  next  generation  access 
(NGA) networks. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 79 
▼  
M1
2a. As 
an 
alternative 
to 
establishing 
the 
eligible 
costs 
as 
provided 
for 
in paragraph 2, the maximum amount of aid for a project may be 
established on the basis of the competitive selection process as 
required by paragraph 4. 
▼B 
3. 
The investment shall be located in areas where there is no infra­
structure of the same category (either basic broadband or NGA network) 
and where no such infrastructure is likely to be developed on 
commercial terms within three years from the moment of publication 
of the planned aid measure, which shall also be verified through an 
open public consultation. 
4. 
The aid shall be allocated on the basis of an open, transparent and 
non-discriminatory competitive selection process respecting the principle 
of technology neutrality. 
5. The 
network 
operator 
shall 
offer 
the 
widest 
possible 
active 
and 
passive wholesale access, according to Article 2, point 139 of this 
Regulation, under fair and non-discriminatory conditions, including 
physical unbundling in the case of NGA networks. Such wholesale 
access shall be granted for at least seven years and the right of 
access to ducts or poles shall not be limited in time. In the case of 
aid for the construction of ducts, the ducts shall be large enough to cater 
for several cable networks and different network topologies. 
6. The 
wholesale 
access 
price 
shall 
be 
based 
on 
the 
pricing 
principles 
set by the national regulatory authority and on benchmarks that prevail 
in other comparable, more competitive areas of the Member State or the 
Union taking into account the aid received by the network operator. The 
national regulatory authority shall be consulted on access conditions, 
including pricing, and in the event of dispute between access seekers 
and the subsidised infrastructure operator. 
7. Member 
States 
shall 
put 
in 
place 

monitoring 
and 
claw-back 
mechanism if the amount of aid granted to the project exceeds EUR 
10 million. 
SECTION 11 
Aid for culture and heritage conservation 
Article 53 
Aid for culture and heritage conservation 
1. Aid 
for 
culture 
and 
heritage 
conservation 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. The 
aid 
shall 
be 
granted 
for 
the 
following 
cultural 
purposes 
and 
activities: 
▼M1 
(a) museums, archives, libraries, artistic and cultural centres or spaces, 
theatres, cinemas, opera houses, concert halls, other live 
performance organisations, film heritage institutions and other 
similar artistic and cultural infrastructures, organisations and insti­
tutions; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 80 
▼B  
(b) tangible  heritage  including  all  forms of  movable  or  immovable 
cultural heritage and archaeological sites, monuments, historical 
sites and buildings; natural heritage linked to cultural heritage or 
if formally recognized as cultural or natural heritage by the 
competent public authorities of a Member State; 
(c) intangible heritage in any form, including folklorist customs and 
crafts; 
(d) art or cultural events and performances, festivals, exhibitions and 
other similar cultural activities; 
(e)  cultural and artistic education activities as well as promotion of the 
understanding of the importance of protection and promotion of the 
diversity of cultural expressions through educational and greater 
public awareness programs, including with the use of new tech­
nologies; 
(f) writing, editing, production, distribution, digitisation and publishing 
of music and literature, including translations. 
3. 
The aid may take the form of: 
(a) investment aid, including aid for the construction or upgrade of 
culture infrastructure; 
(b) operating aid. 
4. 
For investment aid, the eligible costs shall be the investment costs 
in tangible and intangible assets, including: 
(a) costs for the construction, upgrade, acquisition, conservation or 
improvement of infrastructure, if at least 80 % of either the time 
or the space capacity per year is used for cultural purposes; 
(b) costs for the acquisition, including leasing, transfer of possession or 
physical relocation of cultural heritage; 
(c) costs for safeguarding, preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of 
tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including extra costs for 
storage under appropriate conditions, special tools, materials and 
costs for documentation, research, digitalisation and publication; 
(d) costs  for  improving  the  accessibility of  cultural  heritage to  the 
public, including costs for digitisation and other new technologies, 
costs to improve accessibility for persons with special needs (in 
particular, ramps and lifts for disabled persons, braille indications 
and hands-on exhibits in museums) and for promoting cultural 
diversity with respect to presentations, programmes and visitors; 
(e) costs for cultural projects and activities, cooperation and exchange 
programmes and grants including costs for selection procedures, 
costs for promotion and costs incurred directly as a result of the 
project; 
5. 
For operating aid, the eligible costs shall be the following: 
(a) the cultural institution's or heritage site's costs linked to continuous 
or periodic activities including exhibitions, performances and events 
and similar cultural activities that occur in the ordinary course of 
business; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 81 
▼  
B
(b) costs  of  cultural  and  artistic  education  activities  as  well  as 
promotion of the understanding of the importance of protection 
and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions through 
educational and greater public awareness programs, including with 
the use of new technologies; 
(c)  costs of the improvement of public access to the cultural institution 
or heritage sites and activities including costs of digitisation and of 
use of new technologies as well as costs of improving accessibility 
for persons with disabilities; 
(d) operating costs directly relating to the cultural project or activity, 
such as rent or lease of real estate and cultural venues, travel 
expenses, materials and supplies directly related to the cultural 
project or activity, architectural structures for exhibitions and 
stage sets, loan, lease and depreciation of tools, software and 
equipment, costs for access rights to copyright works and other 
related intellectual property rights protected contents, costs for 
promotion and costs incurred directly as a result of the project or 
activity; depreciation charges and the costs of financing are only 
eligible if they have not been covered by investment aid; 
(e) costs for personnel working for the cultural institution or heritage 
site or for a project; 
(f) costs  for  advisory  and  support  services  provided  by  outside 
consultants and service providers, incurred directly as a result of 
the project. 
6. 
For investment aid, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference 
between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment The 
operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the 
basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism. The 
operator of the infrastructure is allowed to keep a reasonable profit over 
the relevant period. 
7. For 
operating 
aid, 
the 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed 
what 
is 
necessary to cover the operating losses and a reasonable profit over 
the relevant period. This shall be ensured ex ante, on the basis of 
reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism. 
▼M1 
8. 
For aid not exceeding EUR 2 million, the maximum amount of aid 
may be set at 80 % of eligible costs, as an alternative to application of 
the method referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7. 
▼B 
9. 
►M1 For the activities defined in paragraph 2(f), the maximum 
aid amount shall not exceed either the difference between the eligible 
costs and the project's discounted revenues or 70 % of the eligible 
costs. ◄ The revenues shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex 
ante
 or through a clawback mechanism. The eligible costs shall be 
the costs for publishing of music and literature, including the authors' 
fees (copyright costs), translators' fees, editors' fees, other editorial costs 
(proofreading, correcting, reviewing), layout and pre-press costs and 
printing or e-publication costs. 
10. 
Aid to press and magazines, whether they are published in print 
or electronically, shall not be eligible under this Article. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 82 
▼  
B
Article 54 
Aid schemes for audiovisual works 
1. Aid schemes to support the script-writing, development, 
production, distribution and promotion of audiovisual works shall be 
compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(3) of the 
Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in 
this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. Aid 
shall 
support 

cultural 
product. 
To 
avoid 
manifest 
errors 
in 
the qualification of a product as cultural, each Member State shall 
establish effective processes, such as selection of proposals by one or 
more persons entrusted with the selection or verification against a prede­
termined list of cultural criteria. 
3. Aid 
may 
take 
the 
form 
of: 
(a) aid to the production of audiovisual works; 
(b) pre-production aid; and 
(c) distribution aid. 
4. Where 

Member 
States 
makes 
the 
aid 
subject 
to 
territorial 
spending obligations, aid schemes for the production of audiovisual 
works may either: 
(a)  require that up to 160 % of the aid granted to the production of a 
given audiovisual work is spent in the territory of the Member State 
granting the aid; or 
(b) calculate the aid granted to the production of a given audiovisual 
work as a percentage of the expenditure on production activities in 
the granting Member State, typically in case of aid schemes in the 
form of tax incentives. 
▼M1 
In both cases, the maximum expenditure subject to territorial spending 
obligations shall in no case exceed 80 % of the overall production 
budget. 
For projects to be eligible for aid, a Member State may also require a 
minimum level of production activity in the territory concerned, but that 
level shall not exceed 50 % of the overall production budget. 
▼B 
5. The 
eligible 
costs 
shall 
be 
the 
following: 
(a) for production aid: the overall costs of production of audiovisual 
works including costs to improve accessibility for persons with 
disabilities. 
(b) for pre-production aid: the costs of script-writing and the develop­
ment of audiovisual works. 
(c) for distribution aid: the costs of distribution and promotion of 
audiovisual works. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 83 
▼  
B
6. 
The aid intensity for the production of audiovisual works shall not 
exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. 
7. The 
aid 
intensity 
may 
be 
increased 
as 
follows: 
(a)  to 60 % of the eligible costs for cross-border productions funded by 
more than one Member State and involving producers from more 
than one Member State; 
(b)  to 100 % of the eligible costs for difficult audiovisual works and co- 
productions involving countries from the Development Assistance 
Committee (DAC) List of the OECD. 
8. The 
aid 
intensity 
for 
pre-production 
shall 
not 
exceed 
100 

of 
the 
eligible costs. If the resulting script or project is made into an audio­
visual work such as a film, the pre-production costs shall be incor­
porated in the overall budget and taken into account when calculating 
the aid intensity. The aid intensity for distribution shall be the same as 
the aid intensity for production. 
9. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
reserved 
for 
specific 
production 
activities 
or 
individual parts of the production value chain. Aid for film studio infra­
structures shall not be eligible under this Article. 
10. Aid 
shall 
not 
be 
reserved 
exclusively 
for 
nationals 
and 
bene­
ficiaries shall not be required to have the status of undertaking estab­
lished under national commercial law. 
SECTION 12 
Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures 
Article 55 
Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures 
1. Aid 
for 
sport 
and 
multifunctional 
recreational 
infrastructures 
shall 
be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of 
Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification 
requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions 
laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  Sport infrastructure shall not be used exclusively by a single 
professional sport user. Use of the sport infrastructure by other profes­
sional or non-professional sport users shall annually account for at least 
20 % of time capacity. If the infrastructure is used by several users 
simultaneously, corresponding fractions of time capacity usage shall 
be calculated. 
3. Multifunctional recreational infrastructure shall consist of 
recreational facilities with a multi-functional character offering, in 
particular, cultural and recreational services with the exception of 
leisure parks and hotel facilities. 
4. Access 
to 
the 
sport 
or 
multifunctional 
recreational 
infrastructures 
shall be open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non- 
discriminatory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 30 % of 
the investment costs of the infrastructure may be granted preferential 
access under more favourable conditions, provided those conditions are 
made publicly available. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 84 
▼  
B
5. 
If sport infrastructure is used by professional sport clubs, Member 
States shall ensure that the pricing conditions for its use are made 
publicly available. 
6. 
Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to construct, 
upgrade and/or operate the sport or multifunctional recreational infra­
structure shall be assigned on a open, transparent and non-discrimi­
natory basis, having due regard to the applicable procurement rules. 
7. 
The aid may take the form of: 
(a) investment aid, including aid for the construction or upgrade of 
sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructure; 
(b) operating aid for sport infrastructure; 
8. For 
investment 
aid 
for 
sport 
and 
multifunctional 
recreational 
infra­
structure the eligible costs shall be the investment costs in tangible and 
intangible assets. 
9. 
For operating aid for sport infrastructure the eligible costs shall be 
the operating costs of the provision of services by the infrastructure. 
Those operating costs include costs such as personnel costs, materials, 
contracted services, communications, energy, maintenance, rent, admin­
istration, etc., but exclude depreciation charges and the costs of 
financing if these have been covered by investment aid. 
10. For 
investment 
aid 
for 
sport 
and 
multifunctional 
recreational 
infrastructure, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between 
the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The 
operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on 
the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism. 
11. 
For operating aid for sport infrastructure, the aid amount shall not 
exceed the operating losses over the relevant period. This shall be 
ensured ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a 
claw-back mechanism. 
▼M1 
12. For 
aid 
not 
exceeding 
EUR 

million, 
the 
maximum 
amount 
of 
aid may be set at 80 % of eligible costs, as an alternative to application 
of the method referred to in paragraphs 10 and 11. 
▼B 
SECTION 13 
Aid for local infrastructures 
Article 56 
Investment aid for local infrastructures 
1.  Financing for the construction or upgrade of local infrastructures 
which concerns infrastructure that contribute at a local level to 
improving the business and consumer environment and modernising 
and developing the industrial base shall be compatible with the 
internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty 
and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) 
of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and 
in Chapter I are fulfilled. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 85 
▼  
B
2. This 
Article 
shall 
not 
apply 
to 
aid 
for 
infrastructures 
that 
is 
covered by other sections of Chapter III of this Regulation with the 
exception of Section 1 — Regional aid. This Article shall also not apply 
to airport infrastructure and port infrastructure. 
3. The 
infrastructure 
shall 
be 
made 
available 
to 
interested 
users 
on 
an 
open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis. The price charged for 
the use or the sale of the infrastructure shall correspond to market price. 
4. 
Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to operate the 
infrastructure shall be assigned on an open, transparent and non- 
discriminatory basis, having due regard to the applicable procurement 
rules. 
5.  The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in tangible and 
intangible assets. 
6. The 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed 
the 
difference 
between 
the 
eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The 
operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on 
the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism. 
7. Dedicated 
infrastructure 
shall 
not 
be 
exempted 
under 
this 
Article. 
▼M1 
SECTION 14 
Aid for regional airports 
Article 56a 
Aid for regional airports 
1. 
Investment aid to an airport shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in paragraphs 3 to 14 
of this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2.  Operating aid to an airport shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in paragraphs 3, 4, 10 
and 15 to 18 of this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled. 
3. The 
airport 
shall 
be 
open 
to 
all 
potential 
users. 
In 
the 
case 
of 
physical limitation of capacity, the allocation shall take place on the 
basis of pertinent, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. 
4. 
The aid shall not be granted for the relocation of existing airports 
or for the creation of a new passenger airport, including the conversion 
of an existing airfield into a passenger airport. 
5. The 
investment 
concerned 
shall 
not 
exceed 
what 
is 
necessary 
to 
accommodate the medium-term expected traffic on the basis of 
reasonable traffic forecasts. 
6.  The investment aid shall not be granted to an airport located 
within 100 kilometres or 60 minutes travelling time by car, bus, train 
or high-speed train from an existing airport from which scheduled air 
services, within the meaning of Article 2(16) of Regulation (EC) No 
1008/2008, are operated. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 86 
▼  
M1
7. Paragraphs 

and 

shall 
not 
apply 
to 
airports 
with 
average 
annual 
passenger traffic of up to 200 000 passengers during the two financial 
years preceding the year in which aid is actually granted if the 
investment aid is not expected to result in the airport increasing its 
average annual passenger traffic to above 200 000 passengers within 
two financial years following the granting of the aid. Investment aid 
granted to such airports shall comply either with paragraph 11 or with 
paragraphs 13 and 14. 
8. 
Paragraph 6 shall not apply where the investment aid is granted to 
an airport situated within 100 kilometres from existing airports from 
which scheduled air services, within the meaning of Article 2(16) of 
Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, are operated, provided the route 
between each of these other existing airports and the airport receiving 
the aid necessarily involves either a total travelling time by maritime 
transportation of at least 90 minutes or air transportation. 
9. The 
investment 
aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
to 
airports 
with 
average 
annual passenger traffic of more than three million passengers during 
the two financial years preceding the year in which aid is actually 
granted. The investment aid shall not be expected to result in the 
airport increasing its average annual traffic to above three million 
passengers within two financial years following the granting of the aid. 
10. The 
aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
to 
airports 
with 
average 
annual 
freight traffic of more than 200 000 tonnes during the two financial 
years preceding the year in which aid is actually granted. The aid 
shall not be expected to result in the airport increasing its average 
annual freight traffic to above 200 000 tonnes within two financial 
years following the granting of the aid. 
11.  The investment aid amount shall not exceed the difference 
between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. 
The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante
on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mech­
anism. 
12. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs relating to the investments in 
airport infrastructure, including planning costs. 
13. The 
investment 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed: 
(a) 50 % of eligible costs for airports with an average annual passenger 
traffic of one to three million passengers during the two financial 
years preceding the year in which aid is actually granted; 
(b)  75 % of the eligible costs for airports with average annual passenger 
traffic of up to one million passengers during the two financial 
years preceding the year in which aid is actually granted. 
14. The 
maximum 
aid 
intensities 
set 
out 
in 
paragraph 
13 
may 
be 
increased by 20 percentage points for airports located in remote regions. 
15. Operating 
aid 
shall 
not 
be 
granted 
to 
airports 
with 
average 
annual 
passenger traffic of more than 200 000 passengers during the two 
financial years preceding the year in which aid is actually granted. 
16. The 
amount 
of 
operating 
aid 
shall 
not 
exceed 
what 
is 
necessary 
to cover the operating losses and a reasonable profit over the relevant 
period. The aid shall be granted either in the form of periodic 
instalments fixed ex ante, which shall not be increased during the 
period for which the aid is granted, or in the form of amounts 
defined ex post based on the observed operating losses. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 87 

 
M1
17.  Operating aid shall not be paid out in respect of any calendar 
year during which the annual passenger traffic of the airport exceeds 
200 000  passengers. 
18. The 
granting 
of 
the 
operating 
aid 
shall 
not 
be 
made 
conditional 
upon the conclusion of arrangements with specific airlines relating to 
airport charges, marketing payments or other financial aspects of the 
airlines' operations at the airport concerned. 
SECTION 15 
Aid for ports 
Article 56b 
Aid for maritime ports 
1.  Aid for maritime ports shall be compatible with the internal 
market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall 
be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs, including planning costs, of: 
(a) investments for the construction, replacement or upgrade of port 
infrastructures; 
(b) investments for the construction, replacement or upgrade of access 
infrastructure; 
(c) dredging. 
3. Costs 
relating 
to 
non-transport 
related 
activities, 
including 
industrial production facilities active in a port, offices or shops, as 
well as for port superstructures shall not be eligible costs. 
4. The 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed 
the 
difference 
between 
the 
eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment or dredging. 
The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante
on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mech­
anism. 
5.  The aid intensity per investment referred to in point (a) of 
paragraph 2 shall not exceed: 
(a)  100 % of the eligible costs where total eligible costs of the project 
are up to EUR 20 million; 
(b) 80 % of the eligible costs where total eligible costs of the project 
are above EUR 20 million and up to EUR 50 million; 
(c) 60 % of the eligible costs where total eligible costs of the project 
are above EUR 50 million and up to the amount laid down in point 
(ee) of Article 4(1). 
The aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible costs 
determined in point (b) of paragraph 2 and point (c) of paragraph 2 
up to the amount laid down in point (ee) of Article 4(1). 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 88 

 
M1
6. The 
aid 
intensities 
laid 
down 
in 
points 
(b) 
and 
(c) 
of 
the 
first 
subparagraph of paragraph 5 may be increased by 10 percentage 
points for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions 
of point (a) of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points 
for investments located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of point 
(c) of Article 107(3) of the Treaty. 
7. 
Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to construct, 
upgrade, operate or rent aided port infrastructure shall be assigned on a 
competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional basis. 
8. The 
aided 
port 
infrastructure 
shall 
be 
made 
available 
to 
interested 
users on an equal and non-discriminatory basis on market terms. 
9. 
For aid not exceeding EUR 5 million, the maximum amount of aid 
may be set at 80 % of eligible costs, as an alternative to application of 
the method referred to in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6. 
Article 56c 
Aid for inland ports 
1. Aid 
for 
inland 
ports 
shall 
be 
compatible 
with 
the 
internal 
market 
within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in 
Chapter I are fulfilled. 
2. 
The eligible costs shall be the costs, including planning costs, of: 
(a) investments for the construction, replacement or upgrade of port 
infrastructures; 
(b) investments for the construction, replacement or upgrade of access 
infrastructure; 
(c) dredging. 
3. Costs 
relating 
to 
non-transport 
related 
activities, 
including 
industrial production facilities active in a port, offices or shops, as 
well as for port superstructures shall not be eligible costs. 
4. The 
aid 
amount 
shall 
not 
exceed 
the 
difference 
between 
the 
eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment or dredging. 
The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante
on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mech­
anism. 
5. 
The maximum aid intensity shall not exceed 100 % of the eligible 
costs up to the amount laid down in point (ff) of Article 4(1). 
6. 
Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to construct, 
upgrade, operate or rent aided port infrastructure shall be assigned on a 
competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional basis. 
7. The 
aided 
port 
infrastructure 
shall 
be 
made 
available 
to 
interested 
users on an equal and non-discriminatory basis on market terms. 
8. 
For aid not exceeding EUR 2 million, the maximum amount of aid 
may be set at 80 % of eligible costs, as an alternative to application of 
the method referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 89 
▼B  
CHAPTER IV 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
Article 57 
Repeal 
Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 shall be repealed. 
Article 58 
Transitional provisions 
▼M1 
1. This 
Regulation 
shall 
apply 
to 
individual 
aid 
granted 
before 
the 
respective provisions of this Regulation have entered into force where 
the aid fulfils all the conditions laid down in this Regulation, with the 
exception of Article 9. 
▼B 
2.  Any aid not exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty by virtue of this Regulation or other regu­
lations adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98 
previously in force shall be assessed by the Commission in accordance 
with the relevant frameworks, guidelines, communications and notices. 
3. Any 
individual 
aid 
granted 
before 

January 
2015 
by 
virtue 
of 
any 
regulation adopted pursuant to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 994/98 
in force at the time of granting the aid shall be compatible with the 
internal market and exempted from the notification requirement of 
Article 108(3) of the Treaty with the exclusion of regional aid. Risk 
capital aid schemes in favour of SMEs set up before 1 July 2014 and 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty under Regulation (EC) No 800/2008, shall remain exempted 
and compatible with the internal market until the termination of the 
funding agreement, provided the commitment of the public funding 
into the supported private equity investment fund, on the basis of 
such agreement, was made before 1 January 2015 and the other 
conditions for exemption remain fulfilled. 
▼M1 
3a. 
Any individual aid granted between 1 July 2014 and 9 July 2017 
in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation as applicable at the 
time of granting the aid shall be compatible with the internal market and 
exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the 
Treaty. Any individual aid granted before 1 July 2014 in accordance 
with the provisions of this Regulation, with the exception of Article 9, 
as applicable either before or after 10 July 2017 shall be compatible 
with the internal market and exempted from the notification requirement 
of Article 108(3) of the Treaty. 
▼B 
4.  At the end of the period of validity of this Regulation, any aid 
schemes exempted under this Regulation shall remain exempted during 
an adjustment period of six months, with the exception of regional aid 
schemes. The exemption of regional aid schemes shall expire on the 
date of expiry of the approved regional aid maps. The exemption of risk 
finance aid exempted pursuant to Article 21(2)(a) shall expire at the end 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 90 
▼  
B
of the period foreseen in the funding agreement, provided the 
commitment of public funding to the supported private equity 
investment fund was made on the basis of such agreement within 6 
months from the end of the period of validity of this Regulation and all 
other conditions for exemption remain fulfilled. 
▼M1 
5. If 
this 
Regulation 
is 
amended, 
any 
aid 
scheme 
exempted 
under 
this Regulation as applicable at the time of the entry into force of the 
scheme shall remain exempted during an adjustment period of six 
months. 
▼B 
Article 59 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 2014. 
It shall apply until 31 December 2020. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in 
all Member States. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 91 
▼  
B
ANNEX I 
SME DEFINITION 
Article 1 
Enterprise 
An enterprise is considered to be any entity engaged in an economic activity, 
irrespective of its legal form. This includes, in particular, self-employed persons 
and family businesses engaged in craft or other activities, and partnerships or 
associations regularly engaged in an economic activity. 
Article 2 
Staff headcount and financial thresholds determining enterprise categories 
1. The 
category 
of 
micro, 
small 
and 
medium-sized 
enterprises 
(‘SMEs’) 
is 
made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have 
an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance 
sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. 
2. Within 
the 
SME 
category, 

small 
enterprise 
is 
defined 
as 
an 
enterprise 
which employs fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual 
balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 10 million. 
3. Within 
the 
SME 
category, 

micro-enterprise 
is 
defined 
as 
an 
enterprise 
which employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual 
balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million. 
Article 3 
Types of enterprise taken into consideration in calculating staff numbers and 
financial amounts 
1.  An ‘autonomous enterprise’ is any enterprise which is not classified as a 
partner enterprise within the meaning of paragraph 2 or as a linked enterprise 
within the meaning of paragraph 3. 
2.  ‘Partner enterprises’ are all enterprises which are not classified as linked 
enterprises within the meaning of paragraph 3 and between which there is the 
following relationship: an enterprise (upstream enterprise) holds, either solely or 
jointly with one or more linked enterprises within the meaning of paragraph 3, 
25 % or more of the capital or voting rights of another enterprise (downstream 
enterprise). 
However, an enterprise may be ranked as autonomous, and thus as not having 
any partner enterprises, even if this 25 % threshold is reached or exceeded by the 
following investors, provided that those investors are not linked, within the 
meaning of paragraph 3, either individually or jointly to the enterprise in 
question: 
(a) public investment corporations, venture capital companies, individuals or 
groups of individuals with a regular venture capital investment activity 
who invest equity capital in unquoted businesses (business angels), 
provided the total investment of those business angels in the same enterprise 
is less than EUR 1 250 000; 
(b) universities or non-profit research centres; 
(c) institutional investors, including regional development funds; 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 92 
▼  
B
(d) autonomous local authorities with an annual budget of less than EUR 10 
million and less than 5 000 inhabitants. 
3. ‘Linked 
enterprises’ 
are 
enterprises 
which 
have 
any 
of 
the 
following 
rela­
tionships with each other: 
(a)  an enterprise has a majority of the shareholders' or members' voting rights in 
another enterprise; 
(b)  an enterprise has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of 
the administrative, management or supervisory body of another enterprise; 
(c) an enterprise has the right to exercise a dominant influence over another 
enterprise pursuant to a contract entered into with that enterprise or to a 
provision in its memorandum or articles of association; 
(d) an enterprise, which is a shareholder in or member of another enterprise, 
controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other shareholders in or 
members of that enterprise, a majority of shareholders' or members' voting 
rights in that enterprise. 
There is a presumption that no dominant influence exists if the investors listed in 
the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 are not involving themselves directly or 
indirectly in the management of the enterprise in question, without prejudice to 
their rights as shareholders. 
Enterprises having any of the relationships described in the first subparagraph 
through one or more other enterprises, or any one of the investors mentioned in 
paragraph 2, are also considered to be linked. 
Enterprises which have one or other of such relationships through a natural 
person or group of natural persons acting jointly are also considered linked 
enterprises if they engage in their activity or in part of their activity in the 
same relevant market or in adjacent markets. 
An ‘adjacent market’ is considered to be the market for a product or service 
situated directly upstream or downstream of the relevant market. 
4.  Except in the cases set out in paragraph 2, second subparagraph, an 
enterprise cannot be considered an SME if 25 % or more of the capital or 
voting rights are directly or indirectly controlled, jointly or individually, by 
one or more public bodies. 
5. 
Enterprises may make a declaration of status as an autonomous enterprise, 
partner enterprise or linked enterprise, including the data regarding the thresholds 
set out in Article 2. The declaration may be made even if the capital is spread in 
such a way that it is not possible to determine exactly by whom it is held, in 
which case the enterprise may declare in good faith that it can legitimately 
presume that it is not owned as to 25 % or more by one enterprise or jointly 
by enterprises linked to one another. Such declarations are made without 
prejudice to the checks and investigations provided for by national or Union 
rules. 
Article 4 
Data used for the staff headcount and the financial amounts and reference 
period 
1. 
The data to apply to the headcount of staff and the financial amounts are 
those relating to the latest approved accounting period and calculated on an 
annual basis. They are taken into account from the date of closure of the 
accounts. The amount selected for the turnover is calculated excluding value 
added tax (VAT) and other indirect taxes. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 93 
▼  
B
2. 
Where, at the date of closure of the accounts, an enterprise finds that, on an 
annual basis, it has exceeded or fallen below the headcount or financial 
thresholds stated in Article 2, this will not result in the loss or acquisition of 
the status of medium-sized, small or micro-enterprise unless those thresholds are 
exceeded over two consecutive accounting periods. 
3.  In the case of newly-established enterprises whose accounts have not yet 
been approved, the data to apply is to be derived from a bona fide estimate made 
in the course of the financial year. 
Article 5 
Staff headcount 
The headcount corresponds to the number of annual work units (AWU), i.e. the 
number of persons who worked full-time within the enterprise in question or on 
its behalf during the entire reference year under consideration. The work of 
persons who have not worked the full year, the work of those who have 
worked part-time, regardless of duration, and the work of seasonal workers are 
counted as fractions of AWU. The staff consists of: 
(a) employees; 
(b) persons working for the enterprise being subordinated to it and deemed to be 
employees under national law; 
(c) owner-managers; 
(d) partners engaging in a regular activity in the enterprise and benefiting from 
financial advantages from the enterprise. 
Apprentices or students engaged in vocational training with an apprenticeship or 
vocational training contract are not included as staff. The duration of maternity or 
parental leaves is not counted. 
Article 6 
Establishing the data of an enterprise 
1. 
In the case of an autonomous enterprise, the data, including the number of 
staff, are determined exclusively on the basis of the accounts of that enterprise. 
2. The 
data, 
including 
the 
headcount, 
of 
an 
enterprise 
having 
partner 
enter­
prises or linked enterprises are determined on the basis of the accounts and other 
data of the enterprise or, where they exist, the consolidated accounts of the 
enterprise, or the consolidated accounts in which the enterprise is included 
through consolidation. 
To the data referred to in the first subparagraph are added the data of any partner 
enterprise of the enterprise in question situated immediately upstream or down­
stream from it. Aggregation is proportional to the percentage interest in the 
capital or voting rights (whichever is greater). In the case of cross-holdings, 
the greater percentage applies. 
To the data referred to in the first and second subparagraph are added 100 % of 
the data of any enterprise, which is linked directly or indirectly to the enterprise 
in question, where the data were not already included through consolidation in 
the accounts. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 94 
▼  
B
3. 
For the application of paragraph 2, the data of the partner enterprises of the 
enterprise in question are derived from their accounts and their other data, 
consolidated if they exist. To these are added 100 % of the data of enterprises 
which are linked to these partner enterprises, unless their accounts data are 
already included through consolidation. 
For the application of the same paragraph 2, the data of the enterprises which are 
linked to the enterprise in question are to be derived from their accounts and their 
other data, consolidated if they exist. To these are added, pro rata, the data of any 
possible partner enterprise of that linked enterprise, situated immediately 
upstream or downstream from it, unless it has already been included in the 
consolidated accounts with a percentage at least proportional to the percentage 
identified under the second subparagraph of paragraph 2. 
4. Where 
in 
the 
consolidated 
accounts 
no 
staff 
data 
appear 
for 

given 
enter­
prise, staff figures are calculated by aggregating proportionally the data from its 
partner enterprises and by adding the data from the enterprises to which the 
enterprise in question is linked. 


02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 95 
▼  
B
ANNEX II 
INFORMATION REGARDING STATE AID EXEMPT UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THIS REGULATION 
PART I 
to be provided through the established Commission IT application as laid down in Article 11 


02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 96 
▼  
B

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 97 
▼  
M1
PART II 
to be provided through the established Commission IT application as laid 
down in Article 11 
Please indicate under which provision of the GBER the aid measure is imple­
mented. 
Maximum aid intensity in 
Primary objective — 
% or Maximum annual aid  SME — bonuses in 
Objectives (list) 
General Objectives (list) 
amount in national currency 

(in full amounts) 
Regional aid — 
□ Scheme … 
% … 

investment aid ( 1 ) 
(Art. 14) 
□ Ad hoc aid … 
% … 

Regional aid — 
□ Transport costs of goods in eligible areas (Art.  … % … 

operating aid 
15(2)(a)) 
(Art. 15) 
□ Additional costs in outermost regions (Art.  … % … 

15(2)(b)) 
□ Regional urban development aid (Art. 16) …. 
national 
currency … 

SME aid (Art. 17-18  □ Investment aid to SMEs (Art. 17) … 
% … 

- 19-20) 
□ Aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs (Art.  … % … 

18) 
□  Aid to SMEs for participation in fairs (Art.  … % … 

19) 
□ Aid for cooperation costs incurred by SMEs  … % … 

participating in European Territorial Cooper­
ation projects (Art. 20) 
SME aid — SMEs' 
□ Risk finance aid (Art. 21) … 
national 
currency … 

access to finance 
(Art. 21-22) 
□ Aid for start-ups (Art. 22) … 
national 
currency … 

□  SME aid — Aid to alternative trading platforms specialised in SMEs  … %; in case the aid 
… % 
(Art. 23) 
measure takes the 
form of start-up aid: 
… national currency 
□ SME aid — Aid for scouting costs (Art. 24) … 
% … 

Aid for research, 
Aid for research □ Fundamental  research … % … 

development and 
and development  (Art. 25(2)(a)) 
innovation (Arts. 25-  projects (Art. 25) 
30) 
□ Industrial research (Art. … % … 

25(2)(b)) 
□ Experimental  develop­ … % … 

ment (Art. 25(2)(c)) 
□ Feasibility studies (Art. … % … 
% 
25(2)(d)) 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 98 

 
M1
Maximum aid intensity in 
Primary objective — 
% or Maximum annual aid  SME — bonuses in 
Objectives (list) 
General Objectives (list) 
amount in national currency 

(in full amounts) 
□ Investment aid for research infrastructures … % … 

(Art. 26) 
□ Aid for innovation clusters (Art. 27) … 
% … 

□ Innovation aid for SMEs (Art. 28) … 
% … 

□ Aid for process and organisational innovation  … % … 

(Article 29) 
□ Aid for research and development in the  … % … 

fishery and aquaculture sector (Art. 30) 
□ Training aid (Art. 31) … 
% … 

Aid for 
□ Aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged  … % … 

disadvantaged 
workers in the form of wage subsidies 
workers and workers 
(Article 32) 
with disabilities 
(Arts. 32-35) 
□ Aid for the employment of workers with  … % … 

disabilities in the form of wage subsidies 
(Art. 33) 
□ Aid for compensating the additional costs of  … % … 

employing workers with disabilities (Art. 34) 
□ Aid for compensating the costs of assistance  … % … 

provided to disadvantaged workers (Art. 35) 
Aid for Environ­
□ Investment aid enabling undertakings to go  … % … 

mental protection 
beyond Union standards for environmental 
(Arts. 36-49) 
protection or increase the level of environ­
mental protection in the absence of Union 
standards (Art. 36) 
□ Investment aid for early adaptation to future  … % … 

Union standards (Art. 37) 
□ Investment aid for energy efficiency measures  … % … 

(Art. 38) 
□ Investment aid for energy efficiency projects  … national currency … 

in buildings (Art. 39) 
□ Investment aid for high-efficiency cogen­ … % … 

eration (Art. 40) 
□  Investment aid for the promotion of energy  … % … 

from renewable sources (Art. 41) 
□  Operating aid for the promotion of electricity  … % … 

from renewable sources (Art. 42) 
□  Operating aid for the promotion of energy  … % … 

from renewable sources in small scale instal­
lation (Art. 43) 
□  Aid in the form of reductions in environmen­ … % … 
% 
tal taxes under Directive 2003/96/EC (Art. 44) 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 99 

 
M1
Maximum aid intensity in 
Primary objective — 
% or Maximum annual aid  SME — bonuses in 
Objectives (list) 
General Objectives (list) 
amount in national currency 

(in full amounts) 
□ Investment  aid  for  remediation  of  … % … 

contaminated sites (Art. 45) 
□ Investment aid for energy efficient district  … % … 

heating and cooling (Art. 46) 
□ Investment aid for waste recycling and re-util­ … % … 

isation (Art. 47) 
□ Investment aid for energy infrastructure (Art.  … % … 

48) 
□ Aid for environmental studies (Art. 49) … 
% … 

□ Aid schemes to  Maximum aid intensity … 
% … 

make good the 
damage caused 
Type of natural disaster 
□ earthquake 
by certain 
□ avalanche 
natural disasters 
□ landslide 
(Art. 50) 
□ flood 
□ tornado 
□ hurricane 
□ volcanic eruption 
□ wild fire 
Date of occurrence of the natural disaster dd/mm/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy 
□  Social aid for transport for residents of remote regions (Art. 51) … 
% … 

□ Aid for broadband infrastructures (Art. 52) … 
national 
currency … 

□ Aid for culture and heritage conservation (Art. 53) … 
% … 

□ Aid schemes for audiovisual works (Art. 54) 
… % … 

□  Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures (Art. 55) … % … 

□ Investment aid for local infrastructures (Art. 56) … 
% … 

□ Aid for regional airports (Art. 56a) … 
% … 

□ Aid for maritime ports (Art. 56b) … 
% … 

□ Aid for inland ports (Art. 56c) … 
% … 

( 1 ) In the case of ad hoc regional aid supplementing aid awarded under aid scheme(s), please indicate both the aid intensity granted 
under the scheme and the intensity of the ad hoc aid. 

02014R0651 — EN — 10.07.2017 — 001.004 — 100 
▼B   
ANNEX III 
Provisions for the publication of information as laid down in Article 9(1) 
Member States shall organise their comprehensive State aid websites, on which 
the information laid down in Article 9(1) is to be published, in such a way as to 
allow easy access to the information. Information shall be published in a 
spreadsheet data format, which allows data to be searched, extracted and easily 
published on the internet, for instance in CSV or XML format. Access to the 
website shall be allowed to any interested party without restrictions. No prior 
user registration shall be required to access the website. 
The following information on individual awards as laid down in Article 9(1)(c) 
shall be published: 
— Name of the beneficiary 
— Beneficiary's identifier 
—  Type of enterprise (SME/large) at the time of granting 
— Region in which the beneficiary is located, at NUTS level II ( 1 ) 
— Sector of activity at NACE group level ( 2 ) 
— Aid element, expressed as full amount in national currency ( 3 ) 
— Aid instrument ( 4 ) (Grant/Interest rate subsidy, Loan/Repayable advances/Re­
imbursable grant, Guarantee, Tax advantage or tax exemption, Risk finance, 
Other (please specify)) 
— Date of granting 
— Objective of the aid 
— Granting authority 
— For schemes under Articles 16 and 21, name of the entrusted entity, and the 
names of the selected financial intermediaries 
— Reference of the aid measure. ( 5 ) 
( 1 ) NUTS  —  Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Typically, the region is 
specified at level 2. 
( 2 )  ►M1  Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE 
Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC 
Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1). ◄ 
( 3 )  ►M1 Gross grant equivalent, or for measures under Articles 16, 21, 22 or 39 of this 
Regulation, the amount of the investment. ◄ For operating aid, the annual amount of aid 
per beneficiary can be provided. For fiscal schemes and for schemes under Articles 16 
(Regional urban development aid) and 21 (Risk finance aid), this amount can be 
provided by the ranges set out in Article 9(2) of this Regulation. 
( 4 )  If the aid is granted through multiple aid instruments, the aid amount shall be provided 
by instrument. 
( 5 ) As provided by the Commission under the electronic procedure referred to in Article 11 
of this Regulation.