Second draft on state aid for R&D now open for consultation
The European Commission has released the second draft of its Community Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation (RDI). The document's publication follows a consultation earlier this year and a meeting with the EU Member States. In the light of comments received on the first draft, a number of improvements have been made to the document, particularly with reference to the specific situation of public research entities and innovation intermediaries, young innovative enterprises, innovation clusters, technology transfer offices and experimental development. Comments on this latest draft are welcome until Friday 13 October. The Commission intends to adopt the new state aid framework for RDI before the end of 2006. It is hoped that reforming the state aid rules for research and development will lead to an increase in R&D spending across the EU.