The de minimis Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2831) allows EU Member States to provide financial aid to businesses as long as it is deemed to have no impact on competition and trade.

Aid ceiling

A single enterprise can receive up to EUR 300,000 in de minimis aid over 3 years from a single Member State.

The aid is considered to have been granted as soon as the enterprise has the legal right to receive the aid, even if the payment is made at a later stage.

What is a 'single enterprise'?

A single enterprise is deemed to comprise all enterprises that have control or influence over each other.

This includes:

• enterprises that own the majority of voting rights in another enterprise;
• enterprises that can appoint or dismiss the majority of the directors of another enterprise;
• enterprises that exercise a dominant influence over another through a contract or the articles of association;
• enterprises that control the majority of the voting rights of another enterprise through an agreement with other shareholders.

Even if these links involve other enterprises, they are all considered to form a single enterprise for the calculation of de minimis aid.

Transparency

From 1 January 2026, all de minimis aid will be recorded in a European public register stating the name of the beneficiary and the amount of aid.

Mandatory declaration

In order to be eligible for aid, the enterprise must first provide a statement of all de minimis aid received over the past 3 years. This ensures that the EUR 300,000 ceiling is not exceeded.