The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a €40 million scheme to support the development of publicly accessible and private recharging infrastructure in Luxembourg. The scheme is part of Luxembourg’s comprehensive plan to develop an integrated network of recharging infrastructure for electric road vehicles at national level. This will promote the use of those vehicles, contributing to the reduction of CO2 and pollutant emissions from road transport, as well as to the improvement of air quality. The scheme will be partly funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (‘RRF’), following the Commission’s positive assessment of the Luxembourgish recovery and resilience plan and its adoption by Council.
The scheme consists of three measures: (i) investment aid to companies for the construction or extension of publicly accessible or private recharging infrastructure; (ii) investment aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the construction or extension of private recharging infrastructure; and (iii) the adaptation of the financing system of public recharging infrastructure in Luxembourg and measures to facilitate the transfer of public recharging infrastructure, currently owned by electricity distribution system operators, to a third party, which will be selected through a tendering procedure.
The Commission assessed the scheme under EU state aid rules, and in particular under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which enables member states to support the development of certain economic activities under certain conditions, as well as under the Guidelines on State aid for Climate, Environmental protection and Energy. The Commission considers that the measure will encourage the uptake of recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles, thus contributing to the reduction of CO2 and pollutant emissions, in line with the EU’s climate and environmental objectives and the goals set by European Green Deal.
Furthermore, the Commission found that the aid will be limited to the minimum necessary, as it will be granted through a competitive selection process, and that the necessary safeguards will be in place. The Commission concluded that the positive effects of the scheme on EU environmental and climate goals outweigh any potential distortions of competition and trade brought about by the support. On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU state aid rules.
The Commission assesses measures entailing state aid contained in the national recovery plans presented in the context of the RRF as a matter of priority and has provided guidance and support to member states in the preparatory phases of the national plans, to facilitate the rapid deployment of the RRF. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.62131 in the state aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
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