Guidelines for Regional Aid from 2022
These guidelines of the European Commission for granting regional aid from 2022 onwards aim to promote regional development and territorial cohesion in disadvantaged areas by targeted use of investment and operating aid.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
The goal is to support investments in tangible and intangible assets through state aid, to stimulate regional economic development, create jobs, and strengthen cohesion within the EU in the long term. At the same time, competitive conditions are to be maintained and negative impacts on trade and market dynamics minimized.
Eligible to apply
- Companies
- Public Institutions
Funding requirements
- The aid recipient must be located in a disadvantaged funding area
- Investment projects must contribute to the creation of new jobs and sustainable regional development
Documents required for application
- Aid application
- Standard form
- Proof of investment and labor costs
Evaluation criteria
- Incentive effect
- Necessity of state intervention
- Appropriateness of the aid
- Proportionality (limitation to the necessary minimum)
- Avoidance of excessive negative effects on competition and trade
Description
Guidelines for Regional Aid from 2022 provide a comprehensive legal framework for granting subsidies aimed particularly at promoting the economic development of disadvantaged EU regions. The European Commission has established these guidelines to strengthen territorial cohesion and reduce structural imbalances. The focus is on targeted support for investments in both tangible and intangible assets – subsidies are intended to encourage companies and public institutions to actively invest in regions with lower per capita GDP and higher underemployment. Taking regional specificities into account, different aid areas are defined, distinguishing between A aid areas (particularly disadvantaged regions) and C aid areas.
The primary objective of these guidelines is to create an incentive effect that enables aid recipients to make investment or location decisions that would not have been feasible without state support. To this end, counterfactual scenarios must be clearly presented and substantiated with appropriate evidence. The regulations ensure that the allocated subsidies are limited to the necessary minimum to avoid significant distortions of competition and negative impacts on intra-community trade. Furthermore, transparency of aid is guaranteed through mandatory reporting and regular evaluations, ensuring that state funding is always in line with the principles of cohesion policy and the internal market.
For practical implementation, detailed application forms and standardized procedures are provided, enabling the assessment of eligible costs – based on investment and wage costs. The guidelines contain clearly defined criteria for the designation of aid areas, using population shares, regional GDP data, and unemployment rates to ensure a fair distribution of aid. Overall, these rules ensure that support for regional investments not only provides short-term impulses but also contributes in the long term to the creation of sustainable jobs and the strengthening of regional economic capacity. Regular reviews and the possibility of adjustments to changing economic conditions complete the concept.