ABSTRACT
The Commission has also adopted new guidelines setting out the conditions under which Member States can grant aid in the form of risk capital. The new guidelines have an enlarged scope, now including SMEs and companies with a medium capitalization (midcaps), and encompass a wider range of financial instruments, including equity, quasi-equity (already provided for the former 2006 guidelines), loans and guarantees. The Commission has also slightly redesigned the role and the weight of private investors, which is more tailored to the development stage and riskiness of the investment. In particular, the Commission intends to allow higher levels of public support to be extended to company-creation, where the private business finance markets are reluctant to provide the necessary financing. The new guidelines also set out clearer conditions for tax incentives to investors.
