Press Release: State aid: Commission approves German investment aid to paper manufacturer Hamburger Rieger and opens investigation into German aid to polymer processer REHAU

On 13 June 2016, the European Commission found €33 million investment aid to Hamburger Rieger GmbH, a German paper and plasterboard manufacturer, to be in line with EU state aid rules, in particular the Guidelines on Regional State Aid for 2014-2020, because it furthers regional development without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market. In a separate decision, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether €4 million aid to REHAU AG+Co (a polymer business based in Switzerland active amongst other things as automotive supplier) was in line with the Guidelines. These decisions applied for the first time provisions under the Guidelines requiring for certain projects that the production processes supported were genuinely innovative. They provided guidance to Member States on how the Commission assessed such projects under these rules.