Consultation launched to prolong the 'de minimis' State Aid Regulation for SGEI

The European Commission has begun consulting on whether to prolong the Regulation providing the legislative basis for the granting of de minimis State Aid to economic operators delivering services of a general economic interest ("SGEI").Services of a general economic interest are public services, such as transport, postal networks and social services to citizens, which the commercial market is not capable of delivering, or would be delivered on substantially less advantageous terms if there was no intervention by the public sector.Providing that financial compensation for delivering a service of general economic interest meets certain criteria, notably not exceeding €500,000 over a period of three financial years, public authorities are able to grant de minimis State Aid without breaching the prohibitions on State Aid outlined in the TFEU.In its consultation document, this Commission is proposing a prolongation of the Regulation for a two-year period to 31 December 2020.The consultation period is open until 19th October 2018.For further information and instructions on how to respond to the consultation, please visit http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2018_deminimis/index_en.htmlThe Draft Regulation can be downloaded here > en #Brexit: While the United Kingdom remains a Member State of the European Union, it continues to be bound to observe and implement the acquis of European law until it exits the Union.Image courtesy of Pixaby.com licensed under CC0 Creative Commons.