What changed, Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of ai…

+ ### document
− ## CHAPTER I / COMMON PROVISIONS
− 
− ### Article 1 — Scope
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− 1. This Regulation shall apply to the following categories of aid:
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− (a) regional aid;
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− (b) SME investment and employment aid;
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− (c) aid for the creation of enterprises by female entrepreneurs;
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− (d) aid for environmental protection;
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− (e) aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs and SME participation in fairs;
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− (f) aid in the form of risk capital;
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− (g) aid for research, development and innovation;
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− (h) training aid;
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− (i) aid for disadvantaged or disabled workers.
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− 2. It shall not apply to:
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− (a) aid to export-related activities, 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;
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− (b) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods.
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− 3. This Regulation shall apply to aid in all sectors of the economy with the exception of the following:
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− (a) aid favouring activities in the fishery and aquaculture sectors, as covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 (24), except for training aid, aid in the form of risk capital, aid for research and development and innovation and aid for disadvantaged and disabled workers;
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− (b) aid favouring activities in the primary production of agricultural products, except for training aid, aid in the form of risk capital, aid for research and development, environmental aid, and aid for disadvantaged and disabled workers to the extent that these categories of aid are not covered by…
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− (c) aid favouring activities in the processing and marketing of agricultural products, in the following cases:
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− (i) when 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; or
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− (ii) when the aid is conditional on being partly or entirely passed on to primary producers;
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− (d) aid favouring activities in the coal sector with the exception of training aid, research and development and innovation aid and environmental aid;
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− (e) regional aid favouring activities in the steel sector;
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− (f) regional aid favouring activities in the shipbuilding sector;
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− (g) regional aid favouring activities in the synthetic fibres sector.
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− 4. This Regulation shall not apply to regional aid schemes which are targeted at specific sectors of economic activity within manufacturing or services. Schemes aimed at tourism activities are not considered targeted at specific sectors.
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− 5. This Regulation shall not apply to ad hoc aid granted to large enterprises, except as provided for in Article 13(1).
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− 6. This Regulation shall not apply to the following aid:
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− (a) aid schemes which do not explicitly exclude the payment of individual aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission Decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market;
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− (b) ad hoc aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission Decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market;
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− (c) aid to undertakings in difficulty.
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− 7. For the purposes of point (c) of paragraph 6, an SME shall be considered to be an undertaking in difficulty if it fulfils the following conditions:
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− (a) in the case of a limited liability company, where more than half of its registered capital has disappeared and more than one quarter of that capital has been lost over the preceding 12 months; or
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− (b) in the case of a company where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company, where more than half of its capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared and more than one quarter of that capital has been lost over the preceding 12 months; or
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− (c) whatever the type of company concerned, where it fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for being the subject of collective insolvency proceedings.
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− An SME which has been incorporated for less than three years shall not be considered, for the purposes of this Regulation, to be in difficulty with regard to that period unless it meets the condition set out in point (c) of the first subparagraph.
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− ### Article 2 — Definitions
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− For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:
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− 1. ‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 87(1) of the Treaty;
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− 2. ‘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 …
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− 3. ‘individual aid’ means:
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− (a) ad hoc aid; and
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− (b) notifiable awards of aid on the basis of an aid scheme;
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− 4. ‘ad hoc aid’ means individual aid not awarded on the basis of an aid scheme;
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− 5. ‘aid intensity’ means the aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs;
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− 6. ‘transparent aid’ means aid in respect of which it is possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent *ex ante* without need to undertake a risk assessment;
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− 7. ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ or ‘SMEs’ means undertakings fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I;
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− 8. ‘large enterprises’ means undertakings not fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I;
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− 9. ‘assisted areas’ means regions eligible for regional aid, as determined in the approved regional aid map for the Member State concerned for the period 2007-2013;
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− 10. ‘tangible assets’ means, without prejudice to Article 17(12), assets relating to land, buildings and plant, machinery and equipment; in the transport sector transport means and transport equipment are considered eligible assets, except with regard to regional aid and except for road freight and …
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− 11. ‘intangible assets’ means assets entailed by the transfer of technology through the acquisition of patent rights, licences, know-how or unpatented technical knowledge;
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− 12. ‘large investment project’ means an investment in capital assets with eligible costs above EUR 50 million, calculated at prices and exchange rates on the date when the aid is granted;
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− 13. ‘number of employees’ means the number of annual labour units (ALU), namely the number of persons employed full time in one year, part-time and seasonal work being ALU fractions;
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− 14. ‘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;
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− 15. ‘wage cost’ means the total amount actually payable by the beneficiary of the aid in respect of the employment concerned, comprising:
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− (a) the gross wage, before tax;
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− (b) the compulsory contributions, such as social security charges; and
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− (c) child care and parent care costs;
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− 16. ‘SME investment and employment aid’ means aid fulfilling the conditions laid down in Article 15;
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− 17. ‘investment aid’ means, regional investment and employment aid under Article 13, SME investment and employment aid under Article 15 and investment aid for environmental protection under Articles 18 to 23;
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− 18. ‘disadvantaged worker’ means any person who:
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− (a) has not been in regular paid employment for the previous 6 months; or
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− (b) has not attained an upper secondary educational or vocational qualification (ISCED 3); or
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− (c) is over the age of 50 years; or
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− (d) lives as a single adult with one or more dependents; or
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− (e) 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
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− (f) 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;
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− 19. ‘severely disadvantaged worker’ means any person who has been unemployed for 24 months or more;
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− 20. ‘disabled worker’ means any person:
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− (a) recognised as disabled under national law; or
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− (b) having a recognised limitation which results from physical, mental or psychological impairment;
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− 21. ‘sheltered employment’ means employment in an undertaking where at least 50 % of workers are disabled;
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− 22. ‘agricultural product’ means:
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− (a) the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products covered by Regulation (EC) No 104/2000;
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− (b) products falling under CN codes 4502, 4503 and 4504 (cork products);
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− (c) products intended to imitate or substitute milk and milk products, as referred to in Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (25);
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− 23. ‘processing of agricultural products’ means any operation on an agricultural product resulting in a product which is also an agricultural product, except on-farm activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant product for the first sale;
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− 24. ‘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 …
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− 25. ‘tourism activities’ means the following activities in terms of NACE Rev. 2:
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− (a) NACE 55:Accommodation;
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− (b) NACE 56: Food and beverage service activities;
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− (c) NACE 79: Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities;
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− (d) NACE 90: Creative, arts and entertainment activities;
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− (e) NACE 91: Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities;
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− (f) NACE 93: Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities;
+ 2008R0800 — EN — 01.07.2014 — 002.001 This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents ►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in applicatio…
− 26. ‘repayable advance’ means a loan for a project which is paid in one or more instalments and the conditions for the reimbursement of which depend on the outcome of the research and development and innovation project;
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− 27. ‘risk capital’ means finance provided through equity and quasi-equity financing to undertakings during their early-growth stages (seed, start-up and expansion phases);
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− 28. ‘enterprise newly created by female entrepreneurs’ means a small enterprise fulfilling the following conditions:
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− (a) one or more women own at least 51 % of the capital of the small enterprise concerned or are the registered owners of the small enterprise concerned; and
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− (b) a woman is in charge of the management of the small enterprise;
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− 29. ‘steel sector’ means all activities related to the production of one or more of the following products:
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− (a) pig iron and ferro-alloys:
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− pig iron for steelmaking, foundry and other pig iron, spiegeleisen and high-carbon ferro-manganese, not including other ferro-alloys;
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− (b) crude and semi finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel:
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− liquid steel cast 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;
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− (c) hot finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel:
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− rails, sleepers, fishplates, soleplates, joists, heavy sections 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 she…
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− (d) cold finished products:
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− tinplate, terneplate, blackplate, galvanized sheets, other coated sheets, colled-rolled sheets, electrical sheets and strip for tinplate, cold-rolled plate, in coil and in strip;
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− (e) tubes:
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− all seamless steel tubes, welded steel tubes with a diameter of over 406.4 mm;
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− 30. ‘synthetic fibres sector’ means:
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− (a) extrusion/texturisation of all generic types of fibre and yarn based on polyester, polyamide, acrylic or polypropylene, irrespective of their end-uses; or
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− (b) polymerisation (including polycondensation) where it is integrated with extrusion in terms of the machinery used; or
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− (c) any ancillary process linked to the contemporaneous installation 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…
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− ### Article 3 — Conditions for exemption
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− 1. Aid schemes fulfilling all the conditions of Chapter I of this Regulation, as well as the relevant provisions of Chapter II of this Regulation, shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Art…
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− 2. Individual aid granted under a scheme referred to in paragraph 1 shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty provided that the aid fulfils all the conditions of Ch…
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− 3. Ad hoc aid fulfilling all the conditions of Chapter I of this Regulation, as well as the relevant provisions of Chapter II of this Regulation, shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Arti…
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− ### Article 4 — Aid intensity and eligible costs
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− 1. For the purposes of calculating aid intensity, all figures used shall be taken before any deduction of tax or other charge. Where aid is awarded in a form other than a grant, the aid amount shall be the grant equivalent of the aid. Aid payable in several instalments shall be discounted to its val…
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− 2. In cases where aid is awarded by means of tax exemptions or reductions on future taxes due, subject to the respect of a certain aid intensity defined in gross grant equivalent, discounting of aid tranches shall take place on the basis of the reference rates applicable at the various times the tax…
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− 3. The eligible costs shall be supported by documentary evidence which shall be clear and itemised.
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− ### Article 5 — Transparency of aid
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− 1. This Regulation shall apply only to transparent aid.
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− In particular, the following categories of aid shall be considered to be transparent:
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− (a) aid comprised in grants and interest rate subsidies;
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− (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;
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− (c) aid comprised in guarantee schemes:
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− (i) where the methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent has been accepted following notification of this methodology to the Commission in the context of the application of this Regulation or Regulation (EC) No 1628/2006 and the approved methodology explicitly addresses the type of guarante…
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− (ii) where the beneficiary is a small or medium-sized enterprise and the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of the safe-harbour premiums laid down in the Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees;
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− (d) aid comprised in fiscal measures, where the measure provides for a cap ensuring that the applicable threshold is not exceeded.
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− 2. The following categories of aid shall not be considered to be transparent:
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− (a) aid comprised in capital injections, without prejudice to the specific provisions concerning risk capital;
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− (b) aid comprised in risk capital measures, with the exception of aid fulfilling the conditions of Article 29.
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− 3. Aid in the form of repayable advances shall be considered to be transparent aid only if the total amount of the repayable advance does not exceed the applicable thresholds under this Regulation. If the threshold is expressed in terms of aid intensity, the total amount of the repayable advance, ex…
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− ### Article 6 — Individual notification thresholds
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− 1. This Regulation shall not apply to any individual aid, whether granted ad hoc or on the basis of a scheme, the gross grant equivalent of which exceeds the following thresholds:
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− (a) SME investment and employment aid: EUR 7,5 million per undertaking per investment project;
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− (b) investment aid for environmental protection: EUR 7,5 million per undertaking per investment project;
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− (c) aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs: EUR 2 million per undertaking per project;
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− (d) aid for SME participation in fairs: EUR 2 million per undertaking per project;
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− (e) research and development project aid and feasibility studies:
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− (i) if the project is predominantly fundamental research EUR 20 million per undertaking, per project/feasibility study;
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− (ii) if the project is predominantly industrial research, EUR 10 million per undertaking, per project/feasibility study;
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− (iii) for all other projects, EUR 7,5 million per undertaking, per project/feasibility study;
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− (iv) if the project is a EUREKA project twice the amounts laid down in points (i), (ii) and (iii) respectively.
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− (f) aid for industrial property rights costs for SMEs: EUR 5 million per undertaking per project;
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− (g) training aid: EUR 2 million per training project;
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− (h) aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged workers: EUR 5 million per undertaking per year;
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− (i) aid for the employment of disabled workers in the form of wage costs: EUR 10 million per undertaking per year;
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− (j) aid compensating for additional costs of employing disabled workers: EUR 10 million per undertaking per year.
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− For the purposes of determining the appropriate threshold applicable to research and development project aid and feasibility studies pursuant to point (e), a project shall be considered to consist ‘predominantly’ of fundamental research or ‘predominantly’ of industrial research, if more than 50 % of…
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− 2. Regional investment aid awarded in favour of large investment projects shall be notified to the Commission if the total amount of aid from all sources exceeds 75 % of the maximum amount of aid an investment with eligible costs of EUR 100 million could receive, applying the standard aid threshold …
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− ### Article 7 — Cumulation
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− 1. In determining whether the individual notification thresholds laid down in Article 6 and the maximum aid intensities laid down in Chapter II are respected, the total amount of public support measures for the aided activity or project shall be taken into account, regardless of whether that support…
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− 2. Aid exempted by this Regulation may be cumulated with any other aid exempted under this Regulation as long as those aid measures concern different identifiable eligible costs.
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− 3. Aid exempted by this Regulation shall not be cumulated with any other aid exempted under this Regulation or *de minimis* aid fulfilling the conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 (26) or with other Community funding in relation to the same — partly or fully overlapping — …
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− 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, aid in favour of disabled workers, as provided for in Articles 41 and 42, may be cumulated with aid exempted under this Regulation in relation to the same eligible costs above the highest applicable threshold under this Regulation, provided that such cumulat…
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− 5. As regards the cumulation of aid measures exempted under this Regulation with identifiable eligible costs and aid measures exempted under this Regulation without identifiable eligible costs, the following conditions shall apply:
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− (a) where a target undertaking has received capital under a risk capital measure under Article 29 and subsequently applies, during the first three years after the first risk capital investment, for aid within the scope of this Regulation, the relevant aid thresholds or maximum eligible amounts under…
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− (b) during the first 3 years after being granted, aid for young innovative enterprises may not be cumulated with other aid exempted under this Regulation, with the only exception of aid exempted under Article 29 and aid exempted under Articles 31 to 37.
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− ### Article 8 — Incentive effect
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− 1. This Regulation shall exempt only aid which has an incentive effect.
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− 2. Aid granted to SMEs, covered by this Regulation, shall be considered to have an incentive effect if, before work on the project or activity has started, the beneficiary has submitted an application for the aid to the Member State concerned.
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− 3. Aid granted to large enterprises, covered by this Regulation, shall be considered to have an incentive effect if, in addition to fulfilling the condition laid down in paragraph 2, the Member State has verified, before granting the individual aid concerned, that documentation prepared by the benef…
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− (a) a material increase in the size of the project/activity due to the aid;
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− (b) a material increase in the scope of the project/activity due to the aid;
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− (c) a material increase in the total amount spent by the beneficiary on the project/activity due to the aid;
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− (d) a material increase in the speed of completion of the project/activity concerned;
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− (e) as regards regional investment aid referred to in Article 13, that the project would not have been carried out as such in the assisted region concerned in the absence of the aid.
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− 4. The conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply in relation to fiscal measures if the following conditions are fulfilled:
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− (a) the fiscal measure establishes a legal right to aid in accordance with objective criteria and without further exercise of discretion by the Member State; and
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− (b) the fiscal measure has been adopted before work on the aided project or activity has started; this condition shall not apply in the case of fiscal successor schemes.
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− 5. As regards aid compensating for the additional costs of employing disabled workers, as referred to in Article 42, the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be considered to be met if the conditions laid down in Article 42(3) are fulfilled.
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− As regards aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged workers in the form of wage subsidies and aid for the employment of disabled workers in the form of wage subsidies, as referred to in Articles 40 and 41, the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be considered to be met i…
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− As regards aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes, as referred to in Article 25, the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall be considered to be met.
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− As regards aid in the form of risk capital, as referred to in Article 29, the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be considered to be met.
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− 6. If the conditions of paragraphs 2 and 3 are not fulfilled, the entire aid measure shall not be exempted under this Regulation.
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− ### Article 9 — Transparency
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− 1. Within 20 working days following the entry into force of an aid scheme or the awarding of an ad hoc aid, which has been exempted pursuant to this Regulation, the Member State concerned shall forward to the Commission a summary of the information regarding such aid measure. That summary shall be p…
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− The Commission shall acknowledge receipt of the summary without delay.
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− The summaries shall be published by the Commission in the *Official Journal of the European Union* and on the Commission’s website.
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− 2. Upon the entry into force of an aid scheme or the awarding of an ad hoc aid, which has been exempted pursuant to this Regulation, the Member State concerned shall publish on the internet the full text of such aid measure. In the case of an aid scheme, this text shall set out the conditions laid d…
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− 3. When granting individual aid exempted pursuant to this Regulation, with the exception of aid taking the form of fiscal measures, the act granting the aid shall contain an explicit reference to the specific provisions of Chapter II concerned by that act, to the national law which ensures that the …
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− 4. Without prejudice to the obligations contained in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, whenever individual aid is granted under an existing aid scheme for research and development projects covered by Article 31 and the individual aid exceeds EUR 3 million and whenever individual regional investment aid is gran…
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− ### Article 10 — Monitoring
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− 1. The Commission shall regularly monitor aid measures of which it has been informed pursuant to Article 9.
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− 2. Member States shall maintain detailed records regarding any individual aid or aid scheme exempted under this Regulation. Such records shall contain all information necessary to establish that the conditions laid down in this Regulation are fulfilled, including information on the status of any und…
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− Records regarding individual aid shall be maintained for 10 years from the date on which the aid was granted. Records regarding an aid scheme shall be maintained for 10 years from the date on which the last aid was granted under such scheme.
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− 3. On written request, the Member State concerned shall provide the Commission within a period of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in the request, with all the information which the Commission considers necessary to monitor the application of this Regulation.
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− Where the Member State concerned does not provide the information requested within the period prescribed by the Commission or within a commonly agreed period, or where the Member State provides incomplete information, the Commission shall send a reminder setting a new deadline for the submission of …
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− ### Article 11 — Annual reporting
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− In accordance with Chapter III of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (27), Member States shall compile a report in electronic form on the application of this Regulation in respect of each whole year or each part of the year during which this Regulation applies. The internet address leading direc…
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− ### Article 12 — Specific conditions applicable to investment aid
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− 1. In order to be considered an eligible cost for the purposes of this Regulation, an investment shall consist of the following:
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− (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 existin…
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− (b) the acquisition of the capital assets directly linked to an establishment, where the establishment has closed or would have closed had it not been purchased, and the assets are bought by an independent investor; in the case of business succession of a small enterprise in favour of family of the …
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− The sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking shall not constitute investment.
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− 2. In order to be considered eligible costs for the purposes of this Regulation, intangible assets shall fulfil all the following conditions:
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− (a) they must be used exclusively in the undertaking receiving the aid; as regards regional investment aid, they must be used exclusively in the establishment receiving the aid;
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− (b) they must be regarded as amortizable assets;
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− (c) they must be purchased from third parties under market conditions, without the acquirer being in a position to exercise control, within the meaning of Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (28), on the seller, vice versa; or
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− (d) in the case of SME investment aid, they must be included in the assets of the undertaking for at least three years; in the case of regional investment aid, they must be included in the assets of the undertaking and remain in the establishment receiving the aid for at least five years or, in the …
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− 3. In order to be considered an eligible cost for the purposes of this Regulation, employment directly created by an investment project shall fulfil all the following conditions:
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− (a) employment shall be created within three years of completion of the investment;
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− (b) 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;
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− (c) the employment created shall be maintained during a minimum period of five years in the case of large enterprise and a minimum period of three years in case of SMEs.
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− ## SECTION 1 / Regional aid
− 
− ### Article 13 — Regional investment and employment aid
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− 1. Regional investment and employment aid schemes shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article are fulfilled.
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− Ad hoc aid which is only used to supplement aid granted on the basis of regional investment and employment aid schemes and which does not exceed 50 % of the total aid to be granted for the investment, shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and sh…
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− 2. The aid shall be granted in regions eligible for regional aid, as determined in the approved regional aid map for the Member State concerned for the period 2007-2013. The investment must be maintained in the recipient region for at least five years, or three years in the case of SMEs, after the w…
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− 3. The aid intensity in present gross grant equivalent shall not exceed the regional aid threshold which is in force at the time the aid is granted in the assisted region concerned.
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− 4. With the exception of aid granted in favour of large investment projects and regional aid for the transport sector, the thresholds fixed in paragraph 3 may be increased by 20 percentage points for aid awarded to small enterprises and by 10 percentage points for aid awarded to medium-sized enterpr…
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− 5. The thresholds fixed in paragraph 3 shall apply to the intensity of the aid calculated either as a percentage of the investment’s eligible tangible and intangible costs or as a percentage of the estimated wage costs of the person hired, calculated over a period of two years, for employment direct…
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− 6. Where the aid is calculated on the basis of tangible or intangible investment costs, or of acquisition costs in case of takeovers, the beneficiary must provide a financial contribution of at least 25 % of the eligible costs, either through its own resources or by external financing, in a form whi…
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− 7. In the case of acquisition of an establishment, only the costs of buying assets from third parties shall be taken into consideration, provided that the transaction has taken place under market conditions. Where the acquisition is accompanied by other investment, the costs relating to the latter s…
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− Costs related to the acquisition of assets under lease, other than land and buildings, shall be taken into consideration only if the lease takes the form of financial leasing and contains an obligation to purchase the asset at the expiry of the term of the lease. For the lease of land and buildings,…
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− Except in the case of SMEs and takeovers, the assets acquired shall be new. In the case of takeovers, assets for the acquisition of which aid has already been granted prior to the purchase shall be deducted. For SMEs, the full costs of investments in intangible assets may also be taken into consider…
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− 8. Where the aid is calculated on the basis of wage costs, the employment shall be directly created by the investment project.
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− 9. By way of derogation from paragraphs 3 and 4, the maximum aid intensities for investments in the processing and marketing of agricultural products may be set at:
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− (a) 50 % of eligible investments in regions eligible under Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty and 40 % of eligible investments in other regions eligible for regional aid, as determined in the regional aid map approved for the Member States concerned for the period 2007-2013, if the beneficiary is an SME…
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− (b) 25 % of eligible investments in regions eligible under Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty and 20 % of eligible investments in other regions eligible for regional aid, as determined in the regional aid map approved for the Member States concerned for the period 2007-2013, if the beneficiary has less …
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− 10. In order to prevent a large investment being artificially divided into sub-projects, a large investment project shall be considered to be a single investment project when the investment is undertaken within a period of three years by the same undertaking or undertakings and consists of fixed ass…
− 
− ### Article 14 — Aid for newly created small enterprises
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− 1. Aid schemes in favour of newly created small enterprises shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and…
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− 2. The beneficiary shall be a small enterprise.
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− 3. The aid amount shall not exceed:
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− (a) EUR 2 million for small enterprises with their economic activity in regions eligible for the derogation provided for in Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty;
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− (b) EUR 1 million for small enterprises with their economic activity in regions eligible for the derogation provided for in Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty.
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− Annual amounts of aid per undertaking shall not exceed 33 % of the amounts of aid laid down in points (a) and (b).
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− 4. The aid intensity shall not exceed:
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− (a) in regions covered by Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty, 35 % of eligible costs incurred in the first three years after the creation of the undertaking, and 25 % in the two years thereafter;
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− (b) in regions covered by Article 87(3)(c) of the Treaty, 25 % of eligible costs incurred in the first three years after the creation of the undertaking, and 15 % in the two years thereafter.
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− These intensities may be increased by 5 % in regions covered by Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of less than 60 % of the EU-25 average, in regions with a population density of less than 12.5 inhabitants/km2 and in small islands with a population of less …
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− 5. The eligible costs shall be legal, advisory, consultancy and administrative costs directly related to the creation of the small enterprise, as well as the following costs, insofar as they are actually incurred within the first five years after the creation of the undertaking:
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− (a) interest on external finance and a dividend on own capital employed not exceeding the reference rate;
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− (b) fees for renting production facilities/equipment;
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− (c) energy, water, heating, taxes (other than VAT and corporate taxes on business income) and administrative charges;
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− (d) depreciation, fees for leasing production facilities/equipment as well as wage costs, provided that the underlying investments or job creation and recruitment measures have not benefited from other aid.
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− 6. Small enterprises controlled by shareholders of undertakings that have closed down in the previous 12 months cannot benefit from aid under this Article if the enterprises concerned are active in the same relevant market or in adjacent markets.
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− ## SECTION 2 / SME investment and employment aid
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− ### Article 15 — SME investment and employment aid
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− 1. SME investment and employment aid shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article are …
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− 2. The aid intensity shall not exceed:
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− (a) 20 % of the eligible costs in the case of small enterprises;
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− (b) 10 % of the eligible costs in the case of medium-sized enterprises.
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− 3. The eligible costs shall be the following:
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− (a) the costs of investment in tangible and intangible assets; or
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− (b) the estimated wage costs of employment directly created by the investment project, calculated over a period of two years.
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− 4. Where the investment concerns the processing and marketing of agricultural products, the aid intensity shall not exceed:
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− (a) 75 % of eligible investments in the outermost regions;
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− (b) 65 % of eligible investments in the smaller Aegean Islands within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 (29);
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− (c) 50 % of eligible investments in regions eligible under Article 87(3)(a) of the Treaty;
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− (d) 40 % of eligible investments in all other regions.
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− ## SECTION 3 / Aid for female entrepreneurship
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− ### Article 16 — Aid for small enterprises newly created by female entrepreneurs
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− 1. Aid schemes in favour of small enterprises newly created by female entrepreneurs shall be compatible with the common market within the meaning of Article 87(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid dow…
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− 2. The beneficiaries shall be small enterprises newly created by female entrepreneurs.
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