MEPS CALL FOR BETTER TARGETING OF STATE AID.

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee supports a better measuring out of state aid which should focus more on competitiveness, as proposed by the European Commission in a consultation document published last June*. It backs this approach in a report adopted on January 24 (unanimously with one abstention). Drafted by Gunnar Hokmark (EPP-ED, Sweden), the report points up the continued high volume of state subsidies. The total amount of state aid granted each year in the EU is still equivalent to around 50% of the EU's annual budget, "even according to the most conservative estimates". However, figures differ significantly between the member states: in 2003, Poland and the Czech Republic spent 2.76% of GDP on such aid, as compared to 0.57% by France and 0.26% by the United Kingdom.

MEPs believe that state aid should only be used "as a final resort" and should "be of a temporary nature", with its application being carefully monitored and assessed. The overall amount of aid should be reduced and it should be directed towards areas such as research, innovation and environmental protection: MEPs would like state aid to be targeted at start-up companies or new, innovative SMEs. We can see very few examples where new inventions have had broad political support. More often the political interest has been focused on already...