State aid: Commission to help steel companies and start-ups

The EU Commission plans to enable Member States to provide State aid to rescue steel companies and innovative start-ups. Since Friday, it has consulted an amendment to the guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty. The scope of application is to be extended to the steel sector, which has been excluded to date.

Start-ups should also benefit. Until now, these companies have been excluded from restructuring aid for the first three years after starting their business activities. The Commission therefore plans to change the definition of "undertaking in difficulty" to "certain types of innovative start-ups that have a specific growth model, which allows them to be eligible for aid under other State aid instruments."

Undertakings in difficulty are those that would have to cease trading without state intervention. According to the guidelines from 2014, prerequisites include, for example, insolvency proceedings or high levels of debt. The consultation ends on Nov. 14. Manuel Berkel