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Annex I

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, XXX […](2026) XXX draft

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

concerning the withdrawal of Communication 2009/C 188/02 and of Communication 2009/C 188/01

(1) The Communication from the Commission — Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility of State aid for the employment of disadvantaged and disabled workers subject to individual notification (2009/C 188/02, ‘the Employment aid Communication’), was published in 2009 and concerns State aid measures for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities.

(2) The Communication from the Commission — Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility of State aid for training subject to individual notification (2009/C 188/01, ‘the Training Aid Communication’) was published in 2009 concerns State aid measures for training.

(3) The Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid Communication lay down the criteria to be applied by the Commission to assess the compatibility of State aid measures in the respective fields with the internal market based on Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In particular, these two Communications lay down compatibility criteria to assess whether State aid measures for employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities and for training facilitate the development of an economic activity and do not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.

(4) The compatibility criteria included in the Employment Aid Communication and in the Training Aid Communication were designed to align closely with Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 (1), which was in force in 2009, but was subsequently repealed and replaced by Regulation (EC) No 651/2014 (2) (‘the General Block Exemption Regulation’). Aid measures which are implemented by Member States under the General Block Exemption Regulation are exempted from the notification requirement laid down in Article 108(3) TFEU.

(5) Since 2014, the General Block Exemption Regulation includes provisions on: (i) the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities; and (ii) training aid. On 14 July 2025, the Commission published a call for evidence on a revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation planned for adoption in 2026. That revision aims to simplify and streamline the rules and follows up on the actions announced in the Commission Communication ‘Building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy’ (3) and in the Commission Communication ‘The Union of Skills’ (4). When developing operational exemption criteria that do not create a risk of undue distortion of competition in the internal market in the context of the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation, the Commission takes into account the experience gained with the State aid

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid

compatible with the common market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General block exemption Regulation), OJ L 214, 9.8.2008, pp. 3-47.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, OJ L 187, 26.6.2014, pp. 1-78.

(3) COM(2021) 778 final, 9.12.2021. (4) COM(2025) 90 final, 5.3.2025.

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measures in the fields of employment and training that have been notified under the Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid Communication.

(6) The Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid Communication do not contain a specific end date for their application.

(7) Because of the possibilities available to Member States to adopt aid measures for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities in compliance with the General Block Exemption Regulation, only a limited number of such measures in these fields has been notified for prior approval of the Commission. Where aid measures have been notified, the Commission has observed that the Employment Aid Communication is outdated and no longer in line with contemporary economic and social reality and, in recent State aid decisions, it has therefore decided to assess the aid measures directly under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU (5). For this reason, the Commission announced that it may initiate the process to withdraw that Communication (6).

(8) The assessment criteria set out in the Training Aid Communication apply to training aid the gross grant equivalent of which exceeds the threshold set in the General Block Exemption Regulation (currently EUR 3 million per training project). While the Training Aid Communication provides guidance in the event of a training aid measure exceeding the notification threshold laid down in the General Block Exemption Regulation, in the Commission’s case practice the Training Aid Communication has been applied very rarely because most training aid cases turned out to be covered by the General Block Exemption Regulation. This shows that the Training Aid Communication is a largely redundant legal basis.

(9) In light of the above, the Commission considers it appropriate to withdraw both the Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid Communication, as the criteria included in the first are no longer relevant to assess the compatibility of State aid measures for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities and the criteria set out in the second have shown to be redundant for State aid measures related to training.

(10) Member States will continue to have the possibility to design and implement State aid measures for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities as well as for training in line with applicable State aid rules, including under the General Block Exemption Regulation. In relation to State aid measures not covered by a notification exemption, they will be assessed directly under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU.

(5) See decisions in SA.100209 – Sweden – Entry Jobs, C(2022) 3102 final, published on 16.5.2022,

recitals (113) and (114); SA.114799 – Italy – Aid scheme supporting employment of specific workers in Italy and in Southern Italy (Mezzogiorno), C(2025) 649 final, published on 31.1.2025, recitals (75) and (82); SA.118844 – Italy – Wage support for the recruitment of specific workers in the Region of Calabria, C(2026) 67 final, published on 13.1.2026, recitals (75) and (84).

(6) Ibid.

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(11) The withdrawal of the two Communications takes effect on 1 January 2027 and is to coincide with the entry into force of the revised General Block Exemption Regulation.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR COMPETITION

The Director-General

Brussels, 20/07/2026 COMP/H2-3/HT.5271/Consultation

comp(2026)7789917

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, AUSTRIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, BELGIUM

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, BULGARIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CROATIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CYPRUS

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, CZECH REPUBLIC

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, DENMARK

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ESTONIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, FINLAND

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, FRANCE

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, GERMANY

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, GREECE

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, HUNGARY

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, IRELAND

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ITALY

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, LATVIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, LITHUANIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, LUXEMBURG

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, MALTA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, THE NETHERLANDS

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, POLAND

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, PORTUGAL

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, ROMANIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SPAIN

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SLOVAKIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SLOVENIA

PERMANENT REPRESENTATION, SWEDEN

EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY, EFTA SECRETARIAT, ICELAND,

LIECHTENSTEIN, AND NORWAY

Subject: Written consultation on the Commission’s proposal to withdraw the

Employment Aid Communication (2009/C 188/02) and Training Aid

Communication (2009/C 188/01)

The Commission wishes to consult all Member States on a proposal to withdraw the

Communication from the Commission ‘Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility of State aid

for the employment of disadvantaged and disabled workers subject to individual notification’

(2009/C 188/02, the ‘Employment Aid Communication’), and the Communication from the

Commission ‘Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility of State aid for training subject to

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individual notification’ (2009/C 188/01, the ‘Training Aid Communication’). These lay down the

criteria to be applied by the Commission to assess the compatibility of State aid measures for the

employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities and for training.

You can find attached to this letter a draft Communication from the Commission on the withdrawal

of these two Communications, on which you are invited to provide written feedback until 4

September 2026, included. The written comments should be submitted to COMP-H2-

[email protected] ; please mention HT.5271 in the subject line. This consultation will serve as

a written consultation of the Expert group ‘Multilateral meetings on State aid’ pursuant to

Article 6 of the Rules of Procedure of this Expert Group, replacing a meeting of the Expert

Group.

With the proposal to withdraw the Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid

Communication, the Commission aims to achieve simplification of the State aid legal framework,

as well as to offer additional flexibility to the Member States to design their aid measures in the

fields of employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities and training.

The proposal reflects feedback received in response to the call for evidence on a revision of

Regulation (EC) No 651/2014 (1) (‘the General Block Exemption Regulation’, ‘GBER’), which

included questions on the relevance of the Employment Aid Communication and the Training Aid

Communication. The majority of respondents indicated that the two Communications are not

widely used and are no longer relevant. In fact, because of the possibilities available to Member

States to adopt aid measures for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with

disabilities and for training in compliance with the GBER, only a very limited number of such

measures in these fields has been notified for prior approval of the Commission. In the ongoing

revision of the GBER, the relevant provisions will be substantially amended and enlarged, in

order to provide for more possibilities to Member States. You may see the proposed changes in

the latest version of the revised GBER text, shared with you together with the invitation to the

Advisory Committee meeting on 1 September 2026.

In view of the planned increased possibilities for Member States to design State aid measures

for the employment of disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities and for training in

compliance with the revised GBER, the Commission considers that the Employment Aid

Communication and the Training Aid Communication are largely redundant legal bases. In any

event, if Member States wish to design aid measures not complying with the GBER, it remains

possible to notify such measures directly under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty for the

Functioning of the European Union.

(1) Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible

with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, OJ L 187, 26.6.2014, pp. 1-

78.

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Yours faithfully,

Anthony WHELAN

Annex:

Annex I: Draft Communication from the Commission concerning the withdrawal of

Communication 2009/C 188/02 and of Communication 2009/C 188/01