Dias nummer 1

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State Aid The Danish Approach Preben Sandberg
Pettersson
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The Danish State Aid Policy
Reduce State Aid Focus on horizontal Aid and
market failures National State Aid
Coordination Pre-assessment
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Questions when using public resources!!

• State aid?
• What kind of aid?
• Conformity with Common market?
• How to assess Conformity?

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Answer The Commission Treaty, derived
Provisions and Case Law European Court of
Justice Member States
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The challenge for administrationsConformity
with the state aid provisions?

• Decentralised process
• Insufficient knowledge and overview
• Rules, procedures approval practice
• Non-conformity long and difficult
  process
• Not much fun to change adopted initiatives
• ----------

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Improve handling of State aid Cases
4 24 months. ?
Implementation
Design Pre notification
Notification
DK Initiativ
Adoption of DK Initiativ
Notification
Decision note interservice
Approval CabChef Cion
Drafting Rules / procedures Coordination Committe
e/ Secretariat Contact to Commission
Dialogue and adaptation Meetings letters DG
Competition / other services Civil Servants
Administration Report Deadlines
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Competition Authority Policy, Reporting Coordinat
ion Advice State Aid Committee State Aid
Secretariat
Public Authorities Ministers/ Ministries Responsi
bility for notification and conformity
Perm Rep
European Commission
Other Member States
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New Danish State Aid approachto coordination and
control

• 1 January 2007 obligatory coordination
• One single knowledge and advice centre
• State Aid Committee and Secretariat
• Danish Competition Authority

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CoordinationTask of Committee and Secretariat?

• All levels of Central administration can obtain
• Advice and service on State Aid assessment
• Screening / assessment of draft legal acts
• Advice and service to early contact to
  Commission services
• Advice and service on notifications and
  procedures
• Knowledge Centre Manual/ Hand book

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The State Aid Committee

• Advisory Committee
• Chair Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs
• Members Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign
  affairs and Ministry of Finance File
  responsible Ministry.
• Still single Ministry responsibility to conform
  with Rules and Procedures

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Objectives

• Maximum 6 months to get a notified case approved
  by the Commission if it is based on the
  recommendation of the Competition Authority or
  State Aid Committee
• No cases should be resolved or judged by the
  Commission or the ECJ contrary to the advice of
  the CA or the State Aid Committee

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Practicalities?Assessment based on a checklist

• State aid?
• Conformity with Treaty Provisions?
• Covered by Group exemption?
• Notification / approval of the Commission?
• If State aid then
• Objective, volume, intensity, Coverage,
• Beneficiaries, selection process?
• Impact on competition and trade
• Relevant state aid provisions?

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Timing of assessment?

• As early as possible
• Part of Government draft legal programme
• Before inter Governmental coordination through
  Economy Committee and Coordination Committee
• Before Formal Consultation of Stakeholders
• Before presentation to Parliament

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Questions ?

• The State aid Day, Brno - Czech Republic, 16 - 17
  April 2009

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De minimis Aid

• State aid manual / hand book
• Decentralised procedure
• No central register
• Obligation to commit beneficiaries to report on
  aid received from other sources
• By letter linked to commitment to provide the aid
  and before payment

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Annual reporting

• State aid Scoreboard
• State aid Secretariat / DCA
• Based on data from ministries compared to State
  budget and account
• Continuous update / data failures
• Need for much guidance
• Individual Scheme
• Individual Ministry