Dittel, Maja-Alexandra; Junginger-Dittel, Klaus-Otto --- "Regional State Aid" [2011] ELECD 706; in Szyszczak, Erika (ed), "Research Handbook on European State Aid Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Research Handbook on European State Aid Law

Editor(s): Szyszczak, Erika

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849802741

Section: Chapter 10

Section Title: Regional State Aid

Author(s): Dittel, Maja-Alexandra; Junginger-Dittel, Klaus-Otto

Number of pages: 27

Extract:

10 Regional State aid
Maja-Alexandra Dittel and Klaus-Otto
Junginger-Dittel*


I. INTRODUCTION

This chapter first outlines the general architecture of State aid rules in the
area of regional aid. Subsequently, it analyses the objectives and types
of regional aid, explains the rules for establishing regional aid maps and
regional aid ceilings, presents the compatibility criteria that apply to the
different types of regional aid, and addresses the specific rules for the
assessment of large investment projects. In its final section, it gives an
outlook on the future of regional aid rules.
The key regional aid rules are laid down in the 2006 Regional Aid
Guidelines 2007­2013 (RAG)1 and are taken over by the 2006 Commission
Regional Aid Block Exemption Regulation2 (RAG BER), which was
superseded by the 2008 General Block Exemption Regulation3 (GBER).
This chapter normally refers to the RAG. The corresponding rules in the
RAG BER and the GBER are given in footnotes.


II. THE ARCHITECTURE OF STATE AID RULES IN
THE AREA OF REGIONAL AID

Unlike most other types of State aid, such as aid for small and medium
sized enterprises (SMEs), research, development and innovation (RD&I),
and environmental aid, regional State aid is directly referred to in
the Lisbon Treaty (TFEU). The initial Treaty of Rome 1957 allowed,
declaring as compatible with the common market:

(a) aid to promote the economic development of areas where the standard of
living is abnormally low or where there is serious underemployment,4 . . .
(c) aid to ...