Impact of state aid on environmental financing in Austria

1
Impact of state aid on environmental financing in
Austria

• Aumer

2
EU-rules

• Art. 87 EU-T - Substantial regulations
• Art. 87 (1) Incompatibility of state aid
• Not covered
• non aid instruments
• de-minimis
• specific regulations,
• Art. 87 (2)/(3) Exemptions
• Social aid
• Aid after disasters (natural, others)
• Regional aid
• Horizontal aid
• Sectoral aid

3
EU-rules

• Art. 88 EU-T procedural rules
• Art. 88 (1) continuous monitoring of EC
• appropriate measures
• Art. 88 (2) formal investigation procedure
• Art. 88 (3) Notification obligation ex-ante
  monitoring and approval of EC
• Art. 89 EU-T implementing regulations

4
EU-rules

• Art. 87 (3) Exemptions (Guidelines, Framework,
  Regulations)
• Regional aid
• Horizontal aid
• SME
• RD
• Environmental protection
• State guarantees
• Restructuring aid
• Training aid
• Employment aid
• Aid for enterprises in less developed urban
  districts

5
EU-rules

• Art. 87 (3) Exemptions (Guidelines, Framework,
  Regulations)
• Sectoral aid (sensitive sectors)
• Steel, steel proceedings
• Ship building
• Synthetic fibres
• Motor vehicles
• Fishers
• agriculture
• Transport
• ECCS-products

6
EU-rules

• Implementing regulations
• Procedural regulation
• New aid scheme
• Notify before granting
• Preliminary/formal investigation procedure
• Approval/appropriate measures/disapproval
• Existing aid scheme
• Preliminary/formal investigation procedure
• appropriate measures/amendments
• Unlawful aid
• Preliminary/formal investigation procedure
• direction of intermediate reclaim (exemptions)
• Formal investigation procedure

7
EU-rules

• Implementing regulations
• enabling regulation
• Group exemptions
• SME, RD, Regional aid,
• Training, Environmental aid,
• Employment and training
• Ex-post-monitoring by national courts

8
EU-GEP - changes

• specific rules for renewable energy sources
• Mainly restricted to aid for improving
  EU-environmental standard
• Aid for meeting new compulsory EU-standards only
  for transitional period of 3 years
• incorporation of rehabilitation of contaminated
  sites and relocation of firms
• explicit rules for operational aid including tax
  exemption
• notification of individual cases more than 5 Mio.
  support and 25 Mio. investment costs
• adaptation of existing aid schemes

9
EU-GEP - scope

• covering all actions of all sectors
• to remedy or prevent damage to our physical
  surroundings or natural resources
• to encourage efficient use of energy
• not covered
• design and manufacture of machines or means of
  transport operating with less energy
• actions improving safety or hygiene
• state aid for environmental RD RD-framework
• environmental advisory/consultancy services for
  SME SME-guidelines
• de minimis
• agricultural products of Annex 1 EC-Treaty
• training activities framework on training aid

10
EU-GEP Investment aid

• Investments concerned
• land (only if necessary)
• buildings
• plants
• equipment
• technology transfer (patents, licences)
• Rehabilitation of contaminated industrial sites
• identified person, who is responsible no state
  aid allowed
• no identified person, who is responsible or can
  bear the costs guidelines
• Relocation of firms
• relocation from urban areas or Natura 2000
  designated areas
• relocation dedicated on environmental reasons
• Ordered by administrative/juridical decisions
• Compliance to strictest environmental standards

11
EU-GEP Investment aid - eligible costs

• extra initial environmental costs for
• Adapting to new compulsory EU standards
• To SME
• Transitional period of 3 years
• Meeting national standards in the absence of
  Community standards
• Meeting national standards, which are more
  stringent than Community standards
• no standards investments costs achieving
  significantly higher level

12
EU-GEP Investment aid limits

• max. 15 (Adapting to new compulsory
  EU-standards)
• max. 30
• general environmental investments
• energy savings
• renewable energy sources excluded
• max. 40
• Energy savings
• renewable energy sources
• 10 bonus for renewable energy installations for
  entire community
• combined production of heat and power
• 10 bonus for SME
• Regional bonus
• 5 or 10 bonus for assisted areas Art. 87 (3)
  lit. a/lit.c
• regional aid plus 10

13
EU-GEP Operating aid

• generally not allowed except
• management of waste
• energy field
• grants or tax exemptions

14
EU-GEP Operating aid rules

• general
• only for extra production costs
• temporary granted over 5 years
• digressive max. 100 to 0 (large consumers of
  energy max. 85 )
• non-digressive max. 50
• specifics for tax exemptions
• autonomous tax of MS
• community directive
• higher national rate
• exemptions foreseen in the directive
• specifics for renewable energy/combined
  production of electric power and heat
• additional aid for ensuring sale of energy

15
EU-rules on state aid - impacts

• Procedural aspects
• Notification Time frame for notification min. 2
  months
• Preparatory work informal co-operation with EC
• Central national unit for formal co-ordination
  with EC
• Reporting duties (general reports, sensitive
  sectors, de-minims, group exemptions)

16
EU-rules on state aid - impacts

• Design of aid schemes
• Full exploitation of support possibilities on the
  level of guidelines (within GEP, other
  Guidelines)
• Systems of calculation of the eligible costs
• De-minimis
• Co-financing with other instruments if necessary