Regulation 2002/2204 - Application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment - Main contents

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Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment

Official Journal L 337 , 13/12/2002 P. 0003 - 0014

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002

of 12 December 2002

on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to certain categories of horizontal State aid(1), and in particular point (a)(iv) and point (b) of Article 1(1) thereof,

Having published a draft of this Regulation(2),

Having consulted the Advisory Committee on State Aid,

Whereas:

• (1) 

  Regulation (EC) No 994/98 empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that under certain conditions aid for employment is compatible with the common market and not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

• (2) 

  Regulation (EC) No 994/98 also empowers the Commission to declare, in accordance with Article 87 of the Treaty, that aid that complies with the map approved by the Commission for each Member State for the grant of regional aid is compatible with the common market and is not subject to the notification requirement of Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

• (3) 

  The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to employment aid in and outside assisted areas in numerous decisions and has also stated its policy, in the guidelines on aid to employment(3), in the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs(4), in the guidelines on national regional aid(5) and in Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises(6). In the light of the Commissions experience in applying those provisions, it is appropriate, with a view to ensuring efficient supervision and simplifying administration without weakening Commission monitoring, that the Commission should make use of the powers conferred by Regulation (EC) No 994/98.

• (4) 

  This Regulation is without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to notify aid for employment. Such notifications will be assessed by the Commission in particular in the light of the criteria set out in this Regulation, in Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 or in accordance with any relevant Community guidelines or frameworks. This is currently the case for the sector of maritime transport. The guidelines on State aid for employment(7) cease to apply from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, as do the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs and the notice on an accelerated procedure for processing notifications of employment aid(8). Notifications pending at the entry into force of this Regulation will be assessed in accordance with its provisions. It is appropriate to lay down transitional provisions concerning the application of this Regulation to employment aid granted before its entry into force and in breach of the obligation in Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

• (5) 

  The promotion of employment is a central aim for the economic and social policies of the Community and of its Member States. The Community has developed a European employment strategy in order to promote this objective. Unemployment remains a significant problem in some parts of the Community, and certain categories of worker still find particular difficulty in entering the labour market. For this reason there is a justification for public authorities to apply measures providing incentives to enterprises to increase their levels of employment, in particular...

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