Non-eligible businesses

  • Illegal Aid (companies against which an aid-recovery order is pending following prior decision of the Commission whereby aids have been declared illegal and incompatible with the common market)
  • Businesses that do not meet their obligations against ETEAN SA (companies which have received a guarantee from ETEAN SA for programmes that have been or an still in force and have payments in arrears against a guaranteed loan)
  • Commission Regulation EC 1998/2006 (de minimis)

Companies excluded from Commission Regulation EC 1998/2006 are not eligible. Such companies include very small, small and medium businesses active in:

 1.   Fisheries and aquaculture (Council Regulation EC 104/2000)

 2.   Primary production of agricultural products

 3.   Processing and marketing of agricultural products, as applies in the following cases:

    • When the amount of the aid is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of such products purchased from primary producers or put on the market by the undertakings concerned
    • When the aid is conditional on being partly or entirely passed on to primary producers

 4.   Export-related activities towards third countries or Member States, namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to the export activity

 5.   The coal sector

 6.   Road freight transport for hire, provided the required aid relates to the acquisition of road freight transport vehicles

 7.   Undertakings in difficulty

Other businesses excluded:

  • Public legal entities, 1st and 2nd degree local government organisations, municipal and public companies, public organisations
  • Financial and credit institutions (banks, venture capital companies, leasing companies, factoring companies, insurance companies, mutual fund management companies, portfolio investment companies, etc.)
  • Legal entities, unions of people and non-profit companies (associations, clubs, etc.)
  • Listed companies, Media companies (printed, electronic, etc.) and companies trading in weaponry

To assess the eligibility of businesses with mixed activities (e.g. businesses active in both the primary production of agricultural products in the tertiary sector), the activity with the highest gross revenues (of the last closed fiscal year) will be taken into account.