Updated last 26.03.2021
Small and medium-sized enterprises play a decisive role for opening new jobs and the implementation of innovative solutions. Тhe limited access to loans and guarantees, to information and new technologies makes their business difficult. Therefore, in certain cases (listed in Regulation (EU) 651/2014) state aid is intended to support overcoming of barriers and encouragement of SMEs’ development.
 | Aid for research and development projects |
The encouragement of the R&D and innovation activities is of exceptional significance for the reinforcement of the scientific and technological basis of the European industry and for improving its competitiveness on the international scale.
The supported project should fall in one of the following categories of research: fundamental scientific research, industrial scientific research, experimental developments, feasibility studies.
The eligible expenses include:
- Payroll costs; research, technical personnel and other support staff, as long as the respective persons are hired for the project;
- Tools and equipment expenses, to the extent these are used and in the period of their use for the project;
- Land and buildings acquisition costs, as far as these are used and in the period of their use for the project. With respect to buildings, eligible expenses shall only be the depreciation expenses, corresponding to the project duration, calculated based on the generally accepted accounting principles. As for land, the eligible costs include the expenses for the commercial transfer or the actually incurred capital costs;
- Expenses under contracts for scientific research, know-how and patents, purchased or licensed by external sources based on the arm’s length principle, as well as expenditures for consulting and equivalent services, exclusively used for the project;
- Overhead costs and other operating expenses, including for materials, consumables and other similar products, arising directly, as a result of the project.
Generally, the aid intensity is:
– up to 100 % of the eligible expenses for fundamental scientific research;
– up to 50 % of the eligible expenses for industrial scientific research;
– up to 25 % of the eligible expenses for experimental development;
– up to 50 % of the eligible expenses for feasibility research.
In the fishery and aquaculture sectors the aid intensity is up to 100 % of the eligible expenses, as the aid is provided directly to the organization for research and development activity and distribution of knowledge, and they do not include the direct provision of aid, not related to scientific research, in favor of an enterprise which produces, processes or trades in products of fishery or aquacultures.
 | Investment aid for scientific research infrastructures |
For the performance of revolutionary scientific research and innovations more increasingly are required high quality research infrastructures, since they attract world talents and they are of life-important significance for supporting the new information and communication technologies and the main basic technologies. The eligible expenses include the investment costs of tangible and intangible assets.
The aid intensity is up to 50 % of the eligible costs.
 | Aid for innovation clusters |
Investment аid may be granted for the construction or upgrade of innovation clusters (structures or organized groups from independent parties (for example innovative start-ups, small, medium-size and large enterprises, as well as organizations for scientific research and knowledge distribution, non-profit organizations and other similar economic subjects), created for the purpose to stimulate the innovation activity through promotion, joint use of facilities and knowledge and experience exchange, efficient contribution to the knowledge transfer, creation of networks, dissemination of information and cooperation between the enterprises and the other organizations within the cluster). Тhe eligible expenses include the investment costs for tangible and intangible assets.
 | Aid for innovation to the benefit of SMEs |
The eligible expenses include:
- Expenses for obtaining, validation and protection of patents and other intangible assets;
- Expenses for secondments of highly-qualified personnel from a research and expertise dissemination organization or a major enterprise, as such personnel carries out research and development activities and brings innovation at a newly-established position in beneficiary’s organization and does not replace other personnel;
- Expenditures for consulting and auxiliary services supporting innovations.
The aid intensity is up to 50 % of the eligible costs.
 | Aid for training |
The eligible expenses include:
- Training costs for personnel, for the hours, in which the training personnel takes part in the training;
- Operating expenses for the trainers and trainees, directly related to the project for training, such as travel expenses, materials and consumables, directly related to the project, depreciation of tools and equipment, as long as these are exclusively used for training purposes. Accommodation expenses shall not be eligible costs with the exception of the minimum expenditures, necessary for the accommodation of trainees, who are employees with disabilities;
- consulting services costs, related to the project for training;
- personal expenditures for trainees and general indirect expenses (administrative expenses, rentals, overhead costs) for the hours, in which trainees take part in the training.
Aid is not provided in the cases when the training is conducted by enterprises in view of compliance with the obligatory national training standards.
The aid intensity is up to 50 % of the eligible expenses (in certain conditions the aid intensity could be increased up to 70 % and 100 % of the eligible costs).