Rural Payments and Services

Legal basis

This scheme has been notified to the European Commission under Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU. The scheme number will be provided here when available.

The legal basis is Section 2 (2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

Articles being utilised under this scheme

The information below details the Articles of Regulation No 651/2014 utilised by the LEADER scheme. Awards are granted subject to assessment against the detailed conditions of the Regulation.

Article 17 - Investment aid to SMEs

1. Investment aid to SMEs operating inside or outside the territory of the Union shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. The eligible costs shall be either or both of the following:

• (a) the costs of investment in tangible and intangible assets;
• (b) the estimated wage costs of employment directly created by the investment project, calculated over a period of two years.

3. In order to be considered an eligible cost for the purposes of this Article, an investment shall consist of the following:

(a) an investment in tangible and/or intangible assets relating to the setting-up of a new establishment, the extension of an existing establishment, diversification of the output of an establishment into new additional products or a fundamental change in the overall production process of an existing establishment; or

(b) the acquisition of the assets belonging to an establishment, where the following conditions are fulfilled:

• the establishment has closed or would have closed had it not been purchased;
• the assets are purchased from third parties unrelated to the buyer;
• the transaction takes place under market conditions

Where a member of the family of the original owner, or an employee, takes over a small enterprise, the condition that the assets shall be bought from third parties unrelated to the buyer shall be waived. The sole acquisition of the shares of an undertaking shall not constitute investment.

4. Intangible assets shall fulfil all of the following conditions:

• (a) they shall be used exclusively in the establishment receiving the aid;
• (b) they shall be regarded as amortizable assets;
• (c) they shall be purchased under market conditions from third parties unrelated to the buyer;
• (d) they shall be included in the assets of the undertaking for at least three years;

5. Employment directly created by an investment project shall fulfil the following conditions:

• (a) it shall be created within three years of completion of the investment;
• (b) there shall be a net increase in the number of employees in the establishment concerned, compared with the average over the previous 12 months;
• (c) it shall be maintained during a minimum period of three years from the date the post was first filled.

6. The aid intensity shall not exceed:

• (a) 20 % of the eligible costs in the case of small enterprises;
• (c) 10 % of the eligible costs in the case of medium-sized enterprises.

Article 22 - Aid for start-ups

1. Start-up aid schemes shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. Eligible undertakings shall be unlisted small enterprises up to five years following their registration, which have not yet distributed profits and have not been formed through a merger. For eligible undertakings that are not subject to registration the five years eligibility period may be considered to start from the moment when the enterprise either starts its economic activity or is liable to tax for its economic activity.

3. Start-up aid shall take the form of:

• (a) loans with interest rates which are not conform with market conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to a maximum nominal amount of EUR 1 million, or EUR 1,5 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, or EUR 2 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty. For loans with a duration comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above by the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the loan. For loans with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum amount shall be the same as for loans with a duration of 5 years;
• (b) guarantees with premiums which are not conform with market conditions, with a duration of 10 years and up to maximum EUR 1,5 million of amount guaranteed, or EUR 2,25 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, or EUR 3 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty. For guarantees with a duration comprised between 5 and 10 years the maximum amount guaranteed amounts may be adjusted by multiplying the amounts above by the ratio between 10 years and the actual duration of the guarantee. For guarantees with a duration of less than 5 years, the maximum amount guaranteed shall be the same as for guarantees with a duration of 5 years. The guarantee shall not exceed 80 % of the underlying loan.
• (c) grants, including equity or quasi equity investment, interests rate and guarantee premium reductions up to EUR 0,4 million gross grant equivalent or EUR 0,6 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty, or EUR 0,8 million for undertakings established in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty.

4. A beneficiary can receive support through a mix of the aid instruments referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, provided that the proportion of the amount granted through one aid instrument, calculated on the basis of the maximum aid amount allowed for that instrument, is taken into account in order to determine the residual proportion of the maximum aid amount allowed for the other instruments forming part of such a mixed instrument.

5. For small and innovative enterprises, the maximum amounts set out in paragraph 3 may be doubled.

Article 25 - Aid for research and development projects

1. Aid for research and development projects shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. The aided part of the research and development project shall completely fall within one or more of the following categories:

• (a) fundamental research;
• (b) industrial research;
• (c) experimental development;
• (d) feasibility studies.

3. The eligible costs of research and development projects shall be allocated to a specific category of research and development and shall be the following:

• (a) personnel costs: researchers, technicians and other supporting staff to the extent employed on the project;
• (b) costs of instruments and equipment to the extent and for the period used for the project. Where such instruments and equipment are not used for their full life for the project, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles are considered as eligible.
• (c) Costs for of buildings and land, to the extent and for the duration period used for the project. With regard to buildings, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles are considered as eligible. For land, costs of commercial transfer or actually incurred capital costs are eligible.
• (d) costs of contractual research, knowledge and patents bought or licensed from outside sources at arm's length conditions, as well as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for the project;
• (e) additional overheads and other operating expenses, including costs of materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result of the project;

4. The eligible costs for feasibility studies shall be the costs of the study.

5. The aid intensity for each beneficiary shall not exceed:

• (a) 100 % of the eligible costs for fundamental research;
• (b) 50 % of the eligible costs for industrial research;
• (c) 25 % of the eligible costs for experimental development;
• (d) 50 % of the eligible costs for feasibility studies.

6. The aid intensities for industrial research and experimental development may be increased up to a maximum aid intensity of 80 % of the eligible costs as follows:

(a) by 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage points for small enterprises;

(b) by 15 percentage points if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

(i) the project involves effective collaboration:

• between undertakings among which at least one is an SME, or is carried out in at least two Member States,or in a Member State and in a Contracting Party of the EEA Agreement, and no single undertaking bears more than 70 % of the eligible costs, or
• between an undertaking and one or more research and knowledge-dissemination organisations, where the latter bear at least 10 % of the eligible costs and have the right to publish their own research results;

(ii) the results of the project are widely disseminated through conferences, publication, open access repositories, or free or open source software.

7. The aid intensities for feasibility studies may be increased by 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage points for small enterprises.

Article 28 - Innovation aid for SMEs

1. Innovation aid for SMEs shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. The eligible costs shall be the following:

• (a) costs for obtaining, validating and defending patents and other intangible assets;
• (b) costs for secondment of highly qualified personnel from a research and knowledge-dissemination organization or a large enterprise, working on research, development and innovation activities in a newly created function within the beneficiary and not replacing other personnel;
• (c) costs for innovation advisory and support services;

3. The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs.

4. In the particular case of aid for innovation advisory and support services the aid intensity can be increased up to 100 % of the eligible costs provided that the total amount of aid for innovation advisory and support services does not exceed EUR 200 000 per undertaking within any three year period.

Article 31 - Training aid

1. Training aid shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. Aid shall not be granted for training which undertakings carry out to comply with national mandatory standards on training.

3. The eligible costs shall be the following:

• (a) trainers' personnel costs, for the hours during which the trainers participate in the training;
• (b) trainers' and trainees' operating costs directly relating to the training project such as travel expenses, materials and supplies directly related to the project, depreciation of tools and equipment, to the extent that they are used exclusively for the training project. Accommodation costs are excluded except for the minimum necessary accommodation costs for trainees' who are workers with disabilities;
• (c) costs of advisory services linked to the training project;
• (d) trainees' personnel costs and general indirect costs (administrative costs, rent, overheads) for the hours during which the trainees participate in the training.

4. The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. It may be increased, up to a maximum aid intensity of 70 % of the eligible costs, as follows:

• (a) by 10 percentage points if the training is given to workers with disabilities or disadvantaged workers;
• (b) by 10 percentage points if the aid is granted to medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage points if the aid is granted to small enterprises.
  

5. Where the aid is granted in the maritime transport sector, the aid intensity may be increased to 100 % of the eligible costs provided that the following conditions are met:

• (a) the trainees are not active members of the crew but are supernumerary on board; and
• (b) the training is carried out on board of ships entered in Union registers.

Article 48 - Investment aid for energy infrastructure

1. Investment aid for the construction or upgrade of energy infrastructure shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. Aid shall be granted for energy infrastructure located in assisted areas.

3. The energy infrastructure shall be subject to full tariff and access regulation according to internal energy market legislation.

4. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs.

5. The aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante or through a claw-back mechanism.

6. Aid for investments in electricity and gas storage projects and oil infrastructure shall not be exempt from the notification requirement under this Article.

Article 52 - Aid for broadband infrastructures

1. Investment aid for broadband network development shall be compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. The eligible costs shall be the following:

• (a) investment costs for the deployment of a passive broadband infrastructure;
• (b) investment costs of broadband-related civil engineering works;
• (c) investment costs for the deployment of basic broadband networks; and
• (d) investment costs for the deployment of next generation access (NGA) networks.

3. The investment shall be located in areas where there is no infrastructure of the same category (either basic broadband or NGA network) and where no such infrastructure is likely to be developed on commercial terms within three years from the moment of publication of the planned aid measure, which shall also be verified through an open public consultation.

4. The aid shall be allocated on the basis of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory competitive selection process respecting the principle of technology neutrality.

5. The network operator shall offer the widest possible active and passive wholesale access, according to Article 2, point 139 of this Regulation, under fair and non-discriminatory conditions, including physical unbundling in the case of NGA networks. Such wholesale access shall be granted for at least seven years and the right of access to ducts or poles shall not be limited in time. In the case of aid for the construction of ducts, the ducts shall be large enough to cater for several cable networks and different network topologies.

6. The wholesale access price shall be based on the pricing principles set by the national regulatory authority and on benchmarks that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas of the Member State or the Union taking into account the aid received by the network operator. The national regulatory authority shall be consulted on access conditions, including pricing, and in the event of dispute between access seekers and the subsidised infrastructure operator.

7. Member States shall put in place a monitoring and claw-back mechanism if the amount of aid granted to the project exceeds EUR 10 million.

Article 53 - Aid for culture and heritage conservation

1. Aid for culture and heritage conservation shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. The aid shall be granted for the following cultural purposes and activities:

• (a) museums, archives, libraries, artistic and cultural centres or spaces, theatres, opera houses, concert halls, other live performance organisations, film heritage institutions and other similar artistic and cultural infrastructures, organisations and institutions;
• (b) tangible heritage including all forms of movable or immovable cultural heritage and archaeological sites, monuments, historical sites and buildings; natural heritage linked to cultural heritage or if formally recognized as
  cultural or natural heritage by the competent public authorities of a Member State;
• (c) intangible heritage in any form, including folklorist customs and crafts;
• (d) art or cultural events and performances, festivals, exhibitions and other similar cultural activities;
• (e) cultural and artistic education activities as well as promotion of the understanding of the importance of protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions through educational and greater public awareness programs, including with the use of new technologies;
• (f) writing, editing, production, distribution, digitisation and publishing of music and literature, including translations.

3. The aid may take the form of:

• (a) investment aid, including aid for the construction or upgrade of culture infrastructure;
• (b) operating aid.

4. For investment aid, the eligible costs shall be the investment costs in tangible and intangible assets, including:

• (a) costs for the construction, upgrade, acquisition, conservation or improvement of infrastructure, if at least 80 % of either the time or the space capacity per year is used for cultural purposes;
• (b) costs for the acquisition, including leasing, transfer of possession or physical relocation of cultural heritage;
• (c) costs for safeguarding, preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including extra costs for storage under appropriate conditions, special tools, materials and costs for documentation, research, digitalisation and publication;
• (d) costs for improving the accessibility of cultural heritage to the public, including costs for digitisation and other new technologies, costs to improve accessibility for persons with special needs (in particular, ramps and lifts for disabled persons, braille indications and hands-on exhibits in museums) and for promoting cultural diversity with respect to presentations, programmes and visitors;
• (e) costs for cultural projects and activities, cooperation and exchange programmes and grants including costs for selection procedures, costs for promotion and costs incurred directly as a result of the project

5. For operating aid, the eligible costs shall be the following:

• (a) the cultural institution's or heritage site's costs linked to continuous or periodic activities including exhibitions, performances and events and similar cultural activities that occur in the ordinary course of business;
• (b) costs of cultural and artistic education activities as well as promotion of the understanding of the importance of protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions through educational and greater public awareness programs, including with the use of new technologies;
• (c) costs of the improvement of public access to the cultural institution or heritage sites and activities including costs of digitisation and of use of new technologies as well as costs of improving accessibility for persons with disabilities;
• (d) operating costs directly relating to the cultural project or activity, such as rent or lease of real estate and cultural venues, travel expenses, materials and supplies directly related to the cultural project or activity, architectural structures for exhibitions and stage sets, loan, lease and depreciation of tools, software and equipment, costs for access rights to copyright works and other related intellectual property rights protected contents, costs for promotion and costs incurred directly as a result of the project or activity; depreciation charges and the costs of financing are only eligible if they have not been covered by investment aid;
• (e) costs for personnel working for the cultural institution or heritage site or for a project;
• (f) costs for advisory and support services provided by outside consultants and service providers, incurred directly as a result of the project.

6. For investment aid, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism. The operator of the infrastructure is allowed to keep a reasonable profit over the relevant period.

7. For operating aid, the aid amount shall not exceed what is necessary to cover the operating losses and a reasonable profit over the relevant period. This shall be ensured ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism.

8. For aid not exceeding EUR 1 million, the maximum amount of aid may be set, alternatively to the method referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7, at 80 % of eligible costs.

9. For publishing of music and literature as defined in paragraph 2(f), the maximum aid amount shall not exceed either the difference between the eligible costs and the project's discounted revenues or 70 % of the eligible costs. The revenues shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante or through a clawback mechanism. The eligible costs shall be the costs for publishing of music and literature, including the authors' fees (copyright costs), translators' fees, editors' fees, other editorial costs (proofreading, correcting, reviewing), layout and pre-press costs and printing or e-publication costs.

10. Aid to press and magazines, whether they are published in print or electronically, shall not be eligible under this Article

Article 55 - Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures

1. Aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. Sport infrastructure shall not be used exclusively by a single professional sport user. Use of the sport infrastructure by other professional or non-professional sport users shall annually account for at least 20 % of time capacity. If the infrastructure is used by several users simultaneously, corresponding fractions of time capacity usage shall be calculated.

3. Multifunctional recreational infrastructure shall consist of recreational facilities with a multi-functional character offering, in particular, cultural and recreational services with the exception of leisure parks and hotel facilities.

4. Access to the sport or multifunctional recreational infrastructures shall be open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 30% of the investment costs of the infrastructure may be granted preferential access under more favourable conditions, provided those conditions are made publicly available.

5. If sport infrastructure is used by professional sport clubs, Member States shall ensure that the pricing conditions for its use are made publicly available.

6. Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to construct, upgrade and/or operate the sport or multifunctional recreational infrastructure shall be assigned on a open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis, having due regard to the applicable procurement rules.

7. The aid may take the form of:

• (a) investment aid, including aid for the construction or upgrade of sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructure;
• (b) operating aid for sport infrastructure;

8. For investment aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructure the eligible costs shall be the investment costs in tangible and intangible assets.

9. For operating aid for sport infrastructure the eligible costs shall be the operating costs of the provision of services by the infrastructure. Those operating costs include costs such as personnel costs, materials, contracted services, communications, energy, maintenance, rent, administration, etc., but exclude depreciation charges and the costs of financing if these have been covered by investment aid.

10. For investment aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructure, the aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism.

11. For operating aid for sport infrastructure, the aid amount shall not exceed the operating losses over the relevant period. This shall be ensured ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism.

12. For aid not exceeding EUR 1 million, the maximum amount of aid may be set, alternatively to the method referred to in paragraphs 10 and 11, at 80 % of eligible costs.

Article 56 - Investment aid for local infrastructures

1. Financing for the construction or upgrade of local infrastructures which concerns infrastructure that contribute at a local level to improving the business and consumer environment and modernising and developing the industrial base shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempt from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.

2. This Article shall not apply to aid for infrastructures that is covered by other sections of Chapter III of this Regulation with the exception of Section 1 — Regional aid. This Article shall also not apply to airport infrastructure and port infrastructure.

3. The infrastructure shall be made available to interested users on an open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis. The price charged for the use or the sale of the infrastructure shall correspond to market price.

4. Any concession or other entrustment to a third party to operate the infrastructure shall be assigned on an open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis, having due regard to the applicable procurement rules.

5. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in tangible and intangible assets.

6. The aid amount shall not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment. The operating profit shall be deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, or through a claw-back mechanism.

7. Dedicated infrastructure shall not be exempted under this Article.