On 23 June 2023, the European Commission adopted a targeted amendment to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) to simplify and accelerate support for the EU's green and digital transitions while maintaining a level playing field in the Single Market. Among these amendments, Article 27 was revised to allow State aid to be granted both to cluster operators with a legal personality and to consortia of undertakings that operate the cluster, provided they maintain separate accounting for ownership, operation, and usage activities. As a cornerstone for the existence and sustainability of innovation clusters, State aid provides essential financial support to develop infrastructure, foster collaboration, and drive innovation, enabling clusters to achieve collective goals that individual entities often cannot accomplish alone.

The GBER thus enables EU Member States to provide aid for the development and operation of innovation clusters without prior notification to the European Commission, provided specific conditions are met. Such support addresses market inefficiencies by fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation among businesses and research organisations within clusters.

Speakers will include:

• Rodrigo Peduzzi, DG COMP, European Commission
• Annie Renders, Head of Unit Cluster Policy & Strategic Relations, Government of Flanders, VLAIO
• Donato Pulacchini, Area Manager of "Structural Funds Unit" and State Aid expert, ART-ER

The European Cluster Collaboration Platform invites you to the next EU Clusters Talk “State Aid: From Policy to Practice” on 18 December 2024, 8:30 – 9:45 CET.