European Commission Publishes Review of EU Regulation on State Subsidies, and Seeks Stakeholder’s Feedback 

European Commission Publishes Review of EU Regulation on State Subsidies, and Seeks Stakeholder’s Feedback 

National governments usually require EU approval for subsidies to businesses, projects and activities, to avoid giving them an unfair advantage over other EU competitors. Under the General Block Exemption Regulation, certain subsidies can be exempt from this notification, enabling Member States to provide state aid quicker and in a more agile way.

Since 2025, the European Commission has been working on updating the General Block Exemption Regulation, gathering input from stakeholders through a Call for Evidence* that closed in October. EPR participated in this Call for Evidence through a joint position with Social Services Europe (SSE), of which EPR is a member. SSE’s position is available here.

On 25 February 2025, the European Commission made public the draft for a new General Block Exemption Regulation (available here), taking into account the input received in 2025, and opened a new public consultation (information available here), closing on 23 April 2026 for citizens, organisations and public authorities to provide feedback on the draft. EPR intends to provide feedback, especially through Social Services Europe.

* The definition of “call for evidence” is available at the EPR Knowledge Hub Glossary of key EU policy terms, here.

More information on the Review of the General Block Exemption Regulation available here.