Negotiations on subsidies to enterprises

Following negotiations, an agreement was reached to continue to allow state aid that had already been committed since most of it was already justifiable under EU rules in any case. Existing benefits granted to SMEs, which make up most of the beneficiary companies, will remain in force unchanged until they expire in 2011. In some limited cases that involve large companies, the aid has to be converted so that it could be considered as justifiable under EU rules. This would allow the aid to be quantified and capped. In practice, however, the amount of aid involved from which the companies involved benefit will not change.

It is important to note that besides giving continued legal certainty to existing state aid, this arrangement allows these companies to benefit from other incentives in future, such as support for new investment or for training.