Overview

The  EU  environmental  and  energy  aid  guidelines have been  fundamentally  revised  and  extended.

In the programming period 2014-2020 the focus is more than ever on investments in sustainable energy in order to achieve the EU2020 targets: The shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors as well as a strong emphasis on renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE), resulting in almost a doubling of investment amounts in sustainable energy over 2014-2020. 

Compliance with EU State aid rules is of crucial importance and still remains challenging for State aid practitioners due to their complexity in the field of energy and environment: The revised Environmental and Energy Guidelines (EEAG) have strengthened the authorities’ approach to assess whether State aid exists or is compatible with the EU internal market. Since the scope of the guidelines has been extended to the energy field, it now includes measures related to energy infrastructure projects, generation adequacy measures and energy intensive users. Furthermore, the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), by which a huge number of measures are covered, has considerably been altered.

Topics

• The EU’s Energy Policy: Current Legal Framework and Future Policy Directions
• Concept and Principles of State Aid
• The Environmental and Energy State Aid Guidelines and the General Block Exemption Regulation
• Workshop: Examples of State Aid Measures in the Energy Sector
• The Commission’s State Aid Sector Inquiry and the Design of Future Energy Markets
• State Aid for Resource Adequacy
• State Aid for Energy Efficiency
• Best Practice and Examples of Effective Energy Efficiency Financing
• State Aid for Renewable Resources
• Best Practice and Examples with Renewables 

Structure & Methodology

The training will provide you a comprehensive overview of the current State aid control system in the energy sector. Various presentations, practical exercises and group work will enable you to apply the guideline and the GBER in the field of energy and environment correctly in practice. Furthermore, you will become familiar with the specific rules and conditions for investment and operating aid in the fields of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies.

This training will be conducted by renowned experts EU and Member States’ institutions, as well as leading law firms and consultancies. 
The Lexxion Training Method combines the three stages of learning to ensure that the participants obtain the best possible understanding of EU rules:

1. Identification of the main points or principles;
2. Appreciation of the complexities and limitation of the principles, and
3. Application of the principles.

The participants will be actively involved in the course. The sessions will combine presentations, case studies and discussion on practical problems. You will have ample opportunities to present your own problematic issues and discuss them with the speakers and participants from other Member States.
Just send to us your cases and questions in advance! We will forward them to our speakers, who will include your issues in the programme and answer them during the training. All information concerning such problems and cases will be treated confidentially.

Target Group

• Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies involved in programmes for Energy and Environment
• Ministries for Energy and Environment
• Energy Agencies
• National, Regional and Local Development Agencies
• Development banks, public and private banks
• Consultants and lawyers in the Energy and Environment sector
• Beneficiaries of ESI Funds and/or EU direct programmes