Commission seeks input on revision of rescue and restructuring State aid guidelines

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has today launched a Call for Evidence and a public consultation to seek input on the scope and content of its revision of the Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty (‘Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines’). This input will be used to update the Guidelines to ensure that they remain fit to meet their objectives.

The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines set out the conditions under which aid to non-financial undertakings in difficulty may be considered in line with EU rules, in particular on the basis of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’). To stay up-to-date, the Commission is launching a revision process of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines that entered into force in 2014. The proposed revision considers:

• expanding the scope of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines to include the steel sector, which is currently excluded;
• amending the “undertaking in difficulty” (UiD) definition regarding certain types of innovative start-ups that have a specific growth model, which allows them to be eligible for aid under other State aid instruments;
• clarifying certain parts of the UiD definition, in particular the concept of “own funds” and its relationship with the equity and solvency of UiDs;
• making technical changes following several EU Courts judgments.

The purpose of the Call for Evidence and the public consultation is to collect information and stakeholder views on the planned revision. Feedback will help the Commission to identify the necessary changes and better design the new rules.

The deadline to reply to the Call for Evidence and the public consultation questionnaire is 14 November 2025.

The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines entered into force in 2014. As rescue and restructuring aid are among the most distortive types of State aid, the Guidelines aim to ensure that public funding is channelled where it is needed most and that investors in failing undertakings carry their fair share of the restructuring costs, rather than leaving the burden to taxpayers. In 2020, the Commission conducted an evaluation of the current Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines as part of the State aid Fitness Check. The evaluation showed that the current Guidelines work well, but that clarifications and guidance may be needed on specific aspects. Moreover, since the adoption of the Guidelines in 2014, the market and geopolitical context have changed. European companies face different challenges nowadays than they did over 10 years ago.

More information and next steps

The Commission will analyse the responses to the public consultation and publish a summary of the main points and conclusions on the Commission’s ‘Have Your Say’ portal. The Commission will also publish the contributions in the language in which they were submitted.

Background

Under Article 107(3)(c) of the TFEU, State aid may be considered compatible with the internal market if the aid facilitates the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest. The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines set out the conditions under which State aid for rescuing and restructuring of non-financial undertakings in difficulty may be found to be compatible under that Article of the TFEU. Currently, all sectors can benefit from aid under the Guidelines except the coal and steel sectors and the financial sector. The Guidelines provide for three types of aid: rescue aid, restructuring aid, and temporary restructuring support. To determine whether the Guidelines are applicable they introduce the notion of an undertaking in difficulty (‘UiD’). Only companies which fulfil the criteria of the UiD definition can receive aid under these Guidelines.