GBER scheme for the Central Baltic Programme 2021-2027

1. Legal basis

The Interreg Central Baltic aid scheme 2014-2020 (the ‘scheme’) operates under Commission Regulation (EU) 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 and the consolidated Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1237 of 23 July 2021 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Article 107 and 108 of the Treaty (‘GBER 2014-20’).

The legal basis for the scheme is the European Territorial Cooperation programme ”Central Baltic” (CCI 2021TC16RFCB013), (‘the Programme’).

2. Objectives

The objective of the scheme is to support the development of SMEs in the context of the Central Baltic programme.

3. Definitions

The definitions set out in Article 2 of GBER 2014-20 shall apply to this scheme.

4. Exclusions

Firms subject to recovery orders or in difficulty.

This scheme explicitly excludes the payment of aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market.

This scheme is not available to firms in difficulty (as defined in Article 2(18) of GBER 2014-20).

5. Eligibility criteria

There is no automatic entitlement to support under this scheme.

This scheme is available in the EU Member States participating in the Central Baltic programme (Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Sweden).

6. Type of aid

This scheme shall offer only forms of aid that are considered transparent. Aid is considered transparent if it is possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent of the aid ex ante without any need to undertake a risk assessment. This includes aid comprised in grant and interest rate subsidies and aid comprised in loans where the gross grant-equivalent has been calculated on the basis of the reference rate prevailing at the time.

7. Incentive effect

This scheme is only available to projects where it will have an incentive effect. An incentive effective will be considered present if the beneficiary has submitted a written application before work on the project or any activity starts.

8. Cumulation

Cumulation of aid is not foreseen. The programme reserves the option to grant de minimis aid. However, in such cases GBER wouldn’t be applied.

9. Categories of aid

The categories of aid set below reflect the eligibility criteria set out in regulation (EU) 2021/1237 Art 20. The aid amounts are the maximum levels of support that may be offered. In practice, lower levels may be applied. Moreover, the type of project supported and the scope of eligible expenditure must also meet the requirements of the Central Baltic programme.

10.Aid for cooperation costs incurred by SMEs participating in European

Territorial Cooperation projects:

Aid for cooperation costs incurred by SMEs participating in European Territorial Cooperation projects under this scheme shall comply with regulation (EU) 2021/1237, Article 20 AND 20a.

Eligible costs are:

All cost categories of the project (staff costs, office and administration, travel and accommodation, external expertise and equipment). The aid amount cannot exceed EUR 2 million per undertaking per project; the aid intensity shall not exceed 80% of the eligible costs.

11.Reporting

In compliance with GBER 2014-2020 Article 11(b), the Managing Authority will assure the compilation of the data required for the submission to the Commission an annual report for each whole year or each part year during which this scheme applies.

12.Monitoring

In compliance with GBER 2014-2020, Article 12, the Managing Authority will assure the maintenance of detailed records with the information and supporting documentation necessary to establish that all the conditions laid down in GBER 2014-2020 are fulfilled. Such records shall be kept for 10 years from the date on which the last aid was granted under the scheme. The Managing Authority will enable the provision to the Commission within a period of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in the request, all the information and supporting documentation which the Commission considers necessary to monitor the application of GBER 2014-2020.

Lead or project partners funded under GBER have to provide
their NACE Codes

In order to collect relevant data, lead or project partners funded under GBER have to provide their NACE Codes during the application phase. The list of all available NACE codes and a detailed explanation is available in the Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006.

NACE is the acronym for “Nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la
Communauté européenne”. It is the statistical classification of economic activities in the
European Community and is the subject of legislation at the European Union level, which
imposes the use of the classification uniformly within all the Member States.