Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/2282 of 27 November 2015 amending Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 as regards the notification forms and information sheets (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (1), and in particular Article 33 thereof,

After consulting the Advisory Committee on State aid,

Whereas:

(1) The State aid modernisation initiative has focused on the identification of common principles for the assessment of the compatibility of all aid measures by the Commission. In that regard, the Commission considers an aid measure compatible with the Treaty only if it satisfies the criteria of contributing to a well-defined objective of common interest; the need for State intervention; appropriateness; incentive effect; proportionality; and avoidance of undue negative effects on competition and trade between Member States. The State aid guidelines have been revised and streamlined to reflect those common assessment principles. The State aid notification forms and information sheets contained in Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (2) should therefore be adapted to ensure that the Commission receives all the information necessary for it to carry out its assessment under the modernised State aid rules.

(2) Aid measures should also comply with the transparency criteria set out in the Transparency Communication (3), which aim to promote compliance, reduce uncertainty and enable companies to check whether aid granted to competitors is legal. Transparency also facilitates enforcement for national and regional authorities by increasing awareness of aid granted at various levels, thus ensuring better monitoring and follow-up at national and local level. For that purpose, the notifying Member States should provide relevant information concerning the publication of information on the aid measures.

(3) In view of the potential impact on trade and competition of aid schemes with large aid budgets, or which have novel characteristics or involve significant market, technological or regulatory changes, Member States should carry out an evaluation of such schemes. In order to enable the Commission to assess the evaluation plan, Member States should submit to the Commission a draft evaluation plan at the same time as they notify the Commission of the aid scheme concerned. To that end, a new form for the evaluation plan, to be used by Member States, should be added to Regulation (EC) No 794/2004.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 is amended as follows:

(1) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union’;

(2) Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;

(3) Annexes III A and III B are replaced by the text in Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 27 November 2015.

For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 9.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

(3) Communication from the Commission amending the Communications from the Commission on EU Guidelines for the application of State aid rules in relation to the rapid deployment of broadband networks, on Guidelines on regional State aid for 2014–2020, on State aid for films and other audiovisual works, on Guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments, and on Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines (OJ C 198, 27.6.2014, p. 30).