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State aid
Increase of the de minimis aid threshold for the agriculture sector
Publié le 19 décembre 2024 - Mise à jour le 31 décembre 2025 - Entreprendre Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
In a new regulation, the European Commission raises the ceiling for de minimis aid per company in the agricultural sector to €50 000 (previously €20 000).
What is de minimis aid?
First of all, State aid corresponds to State funding for a company. It must not distort or threaten to distort competition by favoring certain companies or productions. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union mentions State aid compatible with the internal market: aid to promote the economic development of regions with abnormally low living standards, aid to facilitate the development of certain activities, aid to promote culture and heritage conservation, etc.
State aid must be notified to the Commission with the exception of de minimis aid.
The so-called aids de minimis are State aid small amount granted to companies. They are now governed by Regulation 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023.
Evolution of the threshold for the agriculture sector
The de minimis aid ceiling corresponds to the threshold of small aid that a company can receive over three rolling fiscal years (current fiscal year and the two preceding fiscal years). In other words, over a period of 3 years.
For the agriculture sector, the threshold to be met over three rolling fiscal years is now raised to €50,000 (instead of €20 000) by Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3118 of 10 December 2024. The aim of this amendment is to respond effectively to the crises faced by this sector.
The de minimis thresholds are as follows:
Sector | Threshold to be met over 3 rolling tax years |
|---|---|
All sectors (except exceptions) | €300,000 |
Carriage of goods by road for hire or reward | €300,000 |
Agriculture | €50,000 |
Fisheries and aquaculture | €30,000 |
FYI
Regulation No 2024/3118 setting those thresholds shall apply until 31 December 2032.
Please note
In order to reduce the administrative burden on companies and to avoid exceeding thresholds, EU Member States had to put in place, at 1er January 2026, a national central register of information on de minimis aid granted. They also had the possibility to use the European Central Register.
Thus, the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE) has just created the State Aid Platform. It will enable public administrations and operators to provide information on de minimis aid granted to companies and to consult all aid already received by any company.
This new platform will cover de minimis aid for the agricultural sector from 1er January 2027.