RDI Framework

 08/04/2021_State aid: Commission invites interested parties to provide comments on proposed revision of State aid Framework for research, development and innovation

The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on a proposed targeted revision of the State aid Framework for research, development and innovation (the “RDI Framework”). Interested parties can respond to the consultation for eight weeks, until 3 June 2021. The RDI Framework aims at facilitating research, development and innovation (“RDI”) activities, which, due to market failures, would not occur in the absence of public support. The Commission has conducted an evaluation of the current RDI Framework as part of the State aid Fitness Check. The evaluation revealed that the current provisions of the RDI Framework work well overall, and constitute an effective tool in facilitating research, development and innovation activities at both national and European level. At the same time, the evaluation showed that some targeted adjustments of the existing rules may be necessary to reflect the latest regulatory, economic and technological developments. Furthermore, the RDI Framework may need to be aligned to the Commission's new strategic priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the EU's Digital Strategies. In this context, the Commission is proposing a number of targeted changes. More specifically, the proposed revisions consist in: (i) improving and updating the existing definitions of research and innovation activities eligible for support under the RDI Framework; (ii) introducing new provisions to enable public support for technology infrastructures; (iii) simplifying certain rules in order to facilitate the practical application of the RDI. The adoption of the new RDI Framework is foreseen for the second half of 2021. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “We want to further simplify our existing State aid Framework to make it easier for Member States to support research, development and innovation, including by small and medium sized enterprises, while ensuring that possible competition distortions are kept to the minimum. We now invite stakeholders to share their views. All this to provide the right incentives to tackle the challenges we are facing and enable Europe's green and digital transition.” A full press release is available online. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)