EU countries can use existing State aid rules to fund measures such as social housing, healthcare and support for disadvantaged workers, according to new guidance published by the European Commission.
The document is designed to help national authorities design public funding schemes for “social support and social investment” within EU competition rules, the Commission said in a statement on Monday.
It brings together, in one place, the main types of support that can be permitted under State aid rules, including funding for so-called “services of general economic interest” — services that governments require to be provided because the market may not deliver them at the desired level of quality, affordability or access.
Examples given include social and affordable housing services and healthcare.
The guidance also covers aid for employing workers with disadvantages or disabilities, training support and other measures that benefit employees.
Support for households to carry out energy-efficiency measures is also included.
It also lists selected measures that can have social benefits, including support for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, where access to finance may be limited.
A “living tool” linked to the Clean Industrial Deal
The Commission stated that the guidance is intended to be updated as State aid rules change, including when it adopts an updated General Block Exemption Regulation — the EU framework that allows certain categories of aid to be granted without prior notification to the Commission.
The guidance follows an announcement under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.
Public funding for companies — including for goals such as upskilling workers or providing social housing — can count as state aid and is subject to EU rules because it may distort competition in the single market, the Commission noted.
Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said the guidance sets out options that national authorities can consider and includes possibilities that can be implemented directly “without any involvement of the Commission”.
