Transparency and Evaluation procedures

The EU rules require that aid given to companies be transparent. Transparency means giving market participants relevant information about those public interventions that might have potentially distortive effects on competition and on intra-EU trade, i.e. government aid that confers selective advantages to companies.

Specific transparency provisions were introduced in 2014 requiring granting authorities at all levels to provide information about big individual aid awards. On 1 July 2016, those transparency requirements for state aid became mandatory.

The state aid transparency public search gives access to state aid individual award data provided by Member States in compliance with the European transparency requirements for state aid. Citizens and companies can easily access information about awarded aid: name of the beneficiary, amount of aid, location, sector, and objective.

Policy briefs and other relevant information

• State aid transparency: Why? What? When? How? Where? - September 2016
• State aid Transparency for taxpayers - May 2014
• Eurobarometer on perceptions and awareness about transparency of state aid - June 2016

Evaluation

Following the State aid modernisation exercise, the Commission is required to conduct evaluations for a selection of aid schemes, both under the General Block Exemption Regulation, when the scheme's annual aid budget exceeds EUR 150 million, and different State aid guidelines.

The evaluations conducted under State aid rules will provide evidence on both the direct impact of the aid on its beneficiaries and on its indirect impacts, positive and negative, as well as on the proportionality and appropriateness of the aid measure.

An evaluation plan, taking into account the Common methodology for State aid evaluation published in May 2014, should be drafted by the Member State concerned and notified (.zip file) to the Commission for approval. The evaluations must be carried out by independent experts and their results made public.

The results of the evaluations will be taken into account when designing new aid schemes or when prolonging existing schemes. Ultimately, the body of State aid evaluations will contribute to better policy-making by both the Commission and the Member States.

Useful information

• Competition Policy Brief (June 2014) presenting State aid evaluation
• Competition Policy Brief (May 2016) on the role of evaluation to improve support to business R&D&I
• Workshop organised by BRUEGEL in May 2016 “State Aid evaluation: two years of implementation”

Relevant decisions (as of September 2016)