(1)   

(2)   

In the context of the Green Deal and Digital Agenda, the Commission has already announced its intention to revise a series of guidelines by the end of 2021.

(3)   

To provide predictability and legal certainty, while preparing for a future update of the State aid rules, it is appropriate to extend the period of application of the guidelines listed in point (1) until the end of 2021. The period of application of the Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty should be extended for three years.

(4)   

The prolongation of those rules will allow the Commission to finalise the evaluation of those rules together with other State aid rules adopted as part of the State Aid Modernisation initiative. On 7 January 2019, the Commission launched the evaluation of the those rules in the form of a ‘fitness check’. On the basis of the result of that evaluation, the Commission will then be in a position to decide whether to further prolong or update those rules.

(5)   

As regards the national regional aid maps, the Commission invites Member States to notify by 1 September 2020 to the Commission their intention to prolong the validity of their national regional aid maps. Following the approval of the prolongation of the national regional aid maps until 31 December 2021, Member States may decide to prolong the existing schemes approved on the basis of the Guidelines on regional State aid for 2014-2020.

(6)   

Having regard to the economic and financial consequences that the COVID-19 outbreak may have on undertakings, temporary adaptations of some State aid guidelines are also necessary. In particular, in the framework of the Guidelines on regional State aid for 2014-2020, the Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020, the Communication – Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest (IPCEI) and the Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation, undertakings which were not in difficulty on 31 December 2019 but became undertakings in difficulty after 31 December 2019 should be eligible under those guidelines until 30 June 2021.

(7)   

With regard to the Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020, the sharp decline of electricity prices due to the COVID-19 outbreak could lead to situations where the electro-intensity of undertakings may decrease. In that case, the undertaking may lose eligibility under Section 3.7.2 (targeted reductions in the funding of support for energy from renewable sources for competitiveness reasons) when applying Annex 4 for calculating the GVA (Gross Value Added) and the electro-intensity at the level of the undertaking. The calculation methods to be used should therefore be adapted, in order to address this in an appropriate manner.

(8)   

Having regard to the above, those Guidelines should be adapted as set out in points (9) to (15).

(9)   

(10)   

(11)   

(12)   

(13)   

(14)   

(15)   

‘This Framework shall, however, apply to undertakings which were not in difficulty on 31 December 2019 but became undertakings in difficulty in the period from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021.’