European Regional Aid & Subsidy Control : Incremental Shifts, Future Signals

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Michie, Rona and Wishlade, Fiona (2025) European Regional Aid & Subsidy Control : Incremental Shifts, Future Signals. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

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Abstract

In recent years, the broader context for the granting of vast amounts of crisis aid in response to Covid-19, the Ukraine war and the energy crisis has been set by a succession of temporary EU-level frameworks. The EU-level aid focus has now moved on to how best to support green transition, culminating with the launch of the new Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) in July 2025. In terms of the Commission’s direct policy on regional aid discipline under the 2022-27 Regional Aid Guidelines (RAG), the last year has been a relatively quiet period. There have been some modest developments concerning aid intensities, notably regarding STEP, and some Member State have made small changes to assisted areas, partly associated with the Just Transition Areas, but the overall position is largely settled, as the current guidelines approach the end of their lifespan, with the Commission likely to launch a public consultation on their future in the course of 2026. Although regional aid control per se remains substantially unchanged, the introduction of the CISAF has direct and indirect implications for the relevance and relative value of regional aid. Within this context, this report outlines the main changes which have taken place over the last 18 months.

ORCID iDs

Michie, Rona ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3886-589X and Wishlade, Fiona ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2367-0424;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)