BRUSSELS, March 24, 2026 — The European Commission’s competition arm will hold a consultation with national development banks to assess whether EU state aid rules are helping or hindering financing for Europe’s clean industrial transition.
The meeting, organised by the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition, will take place on April 28 and bring together representatives from national promotional banks, international financial institutions involved in the InvestEU Programme, and EU industry associations.
The “Reality Check” session aims to gather practical feedback on how EU state aid rules affect financing instruments used to support the bloc’s Clean Industrial Deal.
Officials said the discussion will focus on identifying good practices and potential regulatory bottlenecks affecting risk finance schemes implemented by national promotional banks.
In particular, the Commission is seeking input on the application of the EU’s General Block Exemption Regulation, the Risk Finance Guidelines and the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework.
Participants will also discuss challenges related to the implementation of the Commission’s Guarantee Notice and the use of InvestEU-backed financing instruments.
The feedback collected during the meeting will feed into ongoing reviews of EU state aid rules, including the General Block Exemption Regulation and the Guarantee Notice, as well as preparations for the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework.
The Commission said the exercise is intended to ensure that state aid policy supports access to finance while addressing market failures and facilitating investment in Europe’s clean industrial transition.
