- access infrastructure
means any type of infrastructure necessary to ensure access and entry from land or sea and river by users to a port, or in a port, such as roads, rail tracks, channels and locks;
- access network
means the segment of a broadband network that connects the backhaul network with the end users’ premises or devices;
- ad hoc aid
means aid not granted on the basis of an aid scheme;
- adjusted aid amount
means the maximum permissible aid amount for a large investment project, calculated in accordance with the following formula: adjusted aid amount = R × (A + 0.50 × B + 0 × C) where: R is the maximum aid intensity applicable in the area concerned, excluding the increased aid intensity for SMEs;
- advisory services linked to cooperation
means consulting, assistance and training for the exchange of knowledge and experiences and for improvement of cooperation;
- agricultural product
means the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013;
- aid
means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 107(1) of the Treaty;
- aid intensity
means the gross aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs, before any deduction of tax or other charge;
- aid scheme
means any act on the basis of which, without further implementing measures being required, individual aid awards may be made to undertakings defined within the act in a general and abstract manner and any act on the basis of which aid which is not linked to a specific project may be granted to one or several undertakings for an indefinite period of time and/or for an indefinite amount;
- airline
means any airline with a valid operating licence issued by a Member State or a Member of the Common European Aviation Area pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- airport
means an entity or group of entities performing the economic activity of providing airport services to airlines;
- airport infrastructure
means infrastructure and equipment for the provision of airport services by the airport to airlines and the various service providers, including runways, terminals, aprons, taxiways, centralised ground handling infrastructure and any other facilities that directly support the airport services, excluding infrastructure and equipment which is primarily necessary for pursuing non-aeronautical activities;
- airport services
means services provided to airlines by an airport or any of its subsidiaries, to ensure the handling of aircraft, from landing to take-off, and of passengers and freight, so as to enable airlines to provide air transport services, including the provision of ground handling services and the provision of centralised ground handling infrastructure;
- alternative fuel infrastructure
means a fixed, mobile or offshore port infrastructure allowing a port to supply vessels with energy sources such as electricity, hydrogen, biofuels as defined in point (i) of Article 2 of Directive 2009/28/EC, synthetic and paraffinic fuels, natural gas, including biomethane, in gaseous form (compressed natural gas (CNG)) and liquefied form (liquefied natural gas (LNG)), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which serve, at least partly, as a substitute for fossil oil sources in the energy supply to transport and which have the potential to contribute to its decarbonisation and enhance the environmental performance of the transport sector;
- alternative trading platform
means a multilateral trading facility as defined in Article 4(1), point (22) of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council where at least 50 % of the financial instruments admitted to trading are issued by SMEs;
- areas eligible for operating aid
means an outermost region referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty, a sparsely populated area or a very sparsely populated area;
- assisted areas
means areas designated in a regional aid map that has been approved in application of Article 107(3), points (a) and (c) of the Treaty and is in force at the time of the award of the aid;
- average annual passenger traffic
means a figure determined on the basis of the inbound and outbound passenger traffic during the two financial years preceding that in which the aid is granted;
- backbone network
means the core network that interconnects backhaul networks from different areas or regions;
- backhaul network
means the part of a broadband network that connects the access network to the backbone network and which does not provide direct access to end-users.
- balance responsible party (BRP)
means balance responsible party as defined in Article 2, point (14), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
- biodiversity
means biodiversity as defined in Article 2, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852;
- biofuel
means liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced from biomass;
- biofuels
means biofuels as defined in Article 2, point (33), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- biogas
means biogas as defined in Article 2, point (28), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- bioliquids
means bioliquids as defined in Article 2, point (32), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- biomass
means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin, as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- biomass fuels
means biomass fuels as defined in Article 2, point (27), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- broadband infrastructure
means a broadband network without any active component and comprises the physical infrastructure, including ducts, poles, masts, towers, dark fibre, cabinets and cables (including dark fibre and copper cables);
- broadband-related civil engineering works
means the civil engineering works which are necessary for the deployment of a broadband network, such as digging up a road in order to enable the placement of (broadband) ducts.
- CCS
means a set of technologies that make it possible to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial plants, including process-inherent emissions, or to capture it directly from ambient air, to transport it to a storage site and inject it in suitable underground geological formations for the purpose of permanent storage;
- CCU
means a set of technologies that make it possible to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial plants, including process-inherent emissions, or to capture it directly from ambient air, and to transport it to a CO2-consumption or utilisation site for full usage of that CO2;
- centralised ground handling infrastructure
means infrastructure which is normally operated by the airport manager and put at the disposal of the various providers of ground handling services active at the airport in exchange for remuneration, excluding equipment owned or operated by the providers of ground handling services;
- CHP
means cogeneration as defined in Article 2, point (30), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
- clean vehicle
means:
- coal
means high-grade, medium-grade and low-grade category A and B coal within the meaning of the international codification system for coal established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and clarified in the Council decision of 10 December 2010 on State aid to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines;
- cogeneration based on renewable energy sources
means cogeneration using 100 % energy from renewable sources as an input for the production of heat and power;
- commercial financial intermediary
means a financial intermediary which operates on a for profit basis and at full own risk, without a public guarantee, national promotional banks or institutions are not considered to be commercial financial intermediaries;
- competitive bidding process
means a non-discriminatory bidding process that provides for the participation of a sufficient number of undertakings and where the aid is granted on the basis of either the initial bid submitted by the bidder or a clearing price.
- completion of the investment
means the moment when the investment is considered by the national authorities as completed or, in the absence thereof, 3 years after the start of works;
- contaminated site
means a site where there is a confirmed presence, caused by man, of hazardous substances of such a level that they pose a significant risk to human health or the environment taking into account current and approved future use of the land;
- contract for difference
means an aid instrument which entitles the beneficiary to a payment equal to the difference between a fixed ‘strike’ price(s) and a reference price – such as a market price, per unit of output;
- date of granting of the aid
means the date when the legal right to receive the aid is conferred on the beneficiary under the applicable national legal regime;
- dedicated infrastructure
means infrastructure that is built for ex-ante identifiable undertaking(s) and tailored to their needs.
- demonstration project
means demonstration project as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- digitalisation
means the adoption of technologies carried out by electronic devices and/or systems which make it possible to increase product functionality, develop online services, modernise processes, or migrate to business models based on the disintermediation of goods production and service delivery, eventually producing a transformative impact;
- disadvantaged worker
means any person who:
- disposal
means disposal as defined in Article 3, point (19), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- distribution
means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on high-voltage, medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its delivery to customers, but does not include supply;
- distribution system operator
(DSO) means a distribution system operator as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
- district cooling
means district heating or district cooling as defined in Article 2, point (19), of Directive 2010/31/EU;
- dredging
means the removal of sediments from the bottom of the waterway access to a port, or in a port;
- ducts
means underground pipes or conduits used to house (fibre, copper or coax) cables of a broadband network.
- ecosystem
means ecosystem as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- EEF
means a special investment vehicle set up for the purpose of investing in energy efficiency projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings.
- effective collaboration
means collaboration between at least two independent parties to exchange knowledge or technology, or to achieve a common objective based on the division of labour where the parties jointly define the scope of the collaborative project, contribute to its implementation and share its risks, as well as its results.
- electricity storage
means deferring the final use of electricity to a moment later than when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical energy into a form of energy which can be stored, the storing of such energy, and the subsequent reconversion of such energy into electrical energy;
- employment directly created by an investment project
means employment concerning the activity to which the investment relates, including employment created following an increase in the utilisation rate of the capacity created by the investment;
- energy efficiency
means energy efficiency as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- energy efficiency fund manager
means a professional management company with a legal personality, selecting and making investments in eligible energy efficiency projects;
- energy efficiency project
means an investment project that increases the energy efficiency of a building;
- energy efficient district heating and cooling
means efficient district heating and cooling as defined in Article 2, point (41), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
- energy infrastructure
means any physical equipment or facility which is located within the Union or linking the Union to one or more third countries and falling under the following categories: Assets listed under points (a) to (g) which are built for one or a small group of ex ante identified users and tailored to their needs (‘dedicated infrastructure’) shall not qualify as energy infrastructure.
- energy savings
means energy savings as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Directive 2012/27/EU;
- entrusted entity
means the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, an international financial institution in which a Member State is a shareholder, or a legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis which has been given mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central, regional or local level to carry out development or promotional activities (a promotional bank or another promotional institution).
- environmental protection
means any action or activity designed to reduce or prevent pollution, negative environmental impacts or other damage to physical surroundings (including to air, water and soil), ecosystems or natural resources by human activities, including to mitigate climate change, to reduce the risk of such damage, to protect and restore biodiversity or to lead to more efficient use of natural resources, including energy-saving measures and the use of renewable sources of energy and other techniques to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, as well as to shift to circular economy models to reduce the use of primary materials and increase efficiencies.
- environmental tax or parafiscal levy
means a tax or a levy applied on a specific tax base, products or services that have a clear negative effect on the environment or which seeks to charge certain activities, goods or services so that the environmental costs may be included in their price or so that producers and consumers are oriented towards activities which better respect the environment;
- equity investment
means the provision of capital to an undertaking, invested directly or indirectly in return for the ownership of a corresponding share of that undertaking;
- evaluation plan
means a document containing at least the following minimum elements: the objectives of the aid scheme to be evaluated, the evaluation questions, the result indicators, the envisaged methodology to conduct the evaluation, the data collection requirements, the proposed timing of the evaluation including the date of submission of the final evaluation report, the description of the independent body conducting the evaluation or the criteria that will be used for its selection and the modalities for ensuring the publicity of the evaluation;
- exit
means the liquidation of holdings by a financial intermediary or investor, including trade sale, write-offs, repayment of shares/loans, sale to another financial intermediary or another investor, sale to a financial institution and sale by public offering, including an initial public offering (IPO);
- experimental development
means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as for example super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud or edge technologies).
- fair rate of return (FRR)
means the expected rate of return equivalent to a risk-adjusted discount rate which reflects the level of risk of a project and the nature and level of capital the private investors plan to invest;
- feasibility study
means the evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision-making by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success;
- financial endowment
means a repayable public investment made to a financial intermediary for the purposes of making investments under a risk finance measure, and where all the proceeds shall be returned to the public investor;
- financial intermediary
means any financial institution regardless of its form and ownership, including funds of funds, private investment funds, public investment funds, banks, micro-finance institutions and guarantee societies;
- first commercial sale
means the first sale by a company on a product or service market, excluding limited sales to test the market;
- fiscal successor scheme
means a scheme in the form of tax advantages which constitutes an amended version of a previously existing scheme in the form of tax advantages and which replaces it.
- follow-on investment
means additional risk finance investment in a company subsequent to one or more previous risk finance investment rounds;
- food based biofuel
means a biofuel produced from cereal and other starch rich crops, sugars and oil crops as defined in the Commission's Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources;
- fundamental research
means experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any direct commercial application or use in view;
- funding gap
means the net extra cost determined by the difference between the economic revenues and costs (including the investment and operation) of the aided project and those of the alternative project which the aid beneficiary would credibly carry out in the absence of aid.
- gross grant equivalent
means the amount of the aid if it had been provided in the form of a grant to the beneficiary, before any deduction of tax or other charge;
- ground handling services
means services provided to airport users at airports as described in the Annex to Council Directive 96/67/EC;
- guarantee rate
means the percentage of loss coverage by a public investor of each and every transaction eligible under the relevant State aid measure;
- heat pump
means a machine, a device or installation that transfers heat from natural surroundings such as air, water or ground to buildings or industrial applications by reversing the natural flow of heat such that it flows from a lower to a higher temperature.
- high-efficiency cogeneration
means cogeneration which satisfies the definition of high efficiency cogeneration as set out in Article 2(34) of Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC;
- high-speed train
means a train capable of reaching speeds of over 200 km/h;
- highly qualified personnel
means staff having a tertiary education degree and at least 5 years of relevant professional experience which may also include doctoral training;
- in-kind contribution
means the contribution of land or real estate where the land or real estate forms part of the urban development project;
- independent private investor
means an investor who is private and independent, as defined in this point.
- individual aid
means:
- industrial research
means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies).
- infrastructure for the collection of ship-generated waste and cargo residues
means fixed, floating or mobile port facilities capable of receiving ship-generated waste or cargo residues as defined in Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
- initial investment
means one of the following:
- initial investment that creates a new economic activity
means:
- inland port
means a port other than a maritime port, for the reception of inland waterway vessels;
- innovation advisory services
means consultancy, assistance or training in the fields of knowledge transfer, acquisition, protection or exploitation of intangible assets or the use of standards and regulations embedding them, as well as consultancy, assistance or training on the introduction or use of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital technologies and solutions);
- innovation clusters
means structures or organised groups of independent parties (such as innovative start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises, as well as research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation infrastructures, Digital Innovation Hubs, non-for-profit organisations and other related economic actors) designed to stimulate innovative activity and new ways of collaboration, such as by digital means, by sharing and/or promoting the sharing of facilities and exchange of knowledge, and expertise and by contributing effectively to knowledge transfer, networking, information dissemination and collaboration among the undertakings and other organisations in the cluster.
- innovation support services
means the provision of office space, data banks, cloud and data storage services, libraries, market research, laboratories, quality labelling, testing, experimentation and certification or other related services, including those services provided by research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation infrastructures or innovation clusters, for the purpose of developing more effective or technologically advanced products, processes or services, including the implementation of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital technologies and solutions);
- innovative enterprise
means an enterprise that meets one of the following conditions:
- innovative technology
means a new and recently qualified technology compared to the state of the art in the industry, which carries a risk of technological or industrial failure and is not an optimisation or scaling up of an existing technology;
- intangible assets
means assets that do not have a physical or financial embodiment such as patents, licences, know-how or other intellectual property;
- integrated sustainable urban development strategy
means a strategy officially proposed and certified by a relevant local authority or public sector agency, defined for a specific urban geographic area and period, that set out integrated actions to tackle the economic, environmental, climate, demographic and social challenges affecting urban areas;
- internal energy market legislation
means Directive (EU) 2019/944, Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2019/943 and Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- journey
means the movement of goods from the point of origin to the point of destination, including any intermediary sections or stages within or outside the Member State concerned, made using one or more means of transport;
- large enterprises
means undertakings not fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I;
- large investment project
means an initial investment with eligible costs exceeding EUR 50 million, calculated at prices and exchange rates on the date of granting the aid;
- lignite
means low-rank C or ortho-lignite and low-rank B or meta-lignite as defined by the international codification system for coal established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;
- loan
means an agreement which obliges the lender to make available to the borrower an agreed amount of money for an agreed period of time and under which the borrower is obliged to repay the amount within the agreed period.
- maritime port
means a port for, principally, the reception of sea-going vessels;
- marketing of agricultural products
means holding or display with a view to sale, offering for sale, delivery or any other manner of placing on the market, except the first sale by a primary producer to resellers or processors and any activity preparing a product for such first sale;
- means of transport
means rail transport, road freight transport, inland waterway transport, maritime transport, air transport, and intermodal transport;
- mobile groundhandling equipment
means mobile equipment used in service activities incidental to air or maritime transport;
- mobile terminal equipment
means mobile equipment used for the loading, unloading and transhipment of goods and intermodal loading units, and for moving cargo within a terminal area;
- nature-based solution
means an action to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which addresses social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services, resilience and biodiversity benefits;
- net increase in the number of employees
means a net increase in the number of employees in the establishment concerned compared to the average over a given period in time, after deducting from the number of jobs created any job losses during that period.
- new entrant
means a railway undertaking within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, which fulfils the following conditions:
- next generation access (NGA) networks
means advanced networks which have at least the following characteristics: (a) deliver services reliably at a very high speed per subscriber through optical (or equivalent technology) backhaul sufficiently close to user premises to guarantee the actual delivery of the very high speed;
- non-aeronautical activities
means commercial services to airlines or other users of the airport, including ancillary services to passengers, freight forwarders or other service providers, renting out of offices and shops, car parking and hotels;
- normal residence
means the place where a natural person lives for at least 185 days, in each calendar year, because of personal and occupational ties;
- operating profit
means the difference between the discounted revenues and the discounted operating costs over the economic lifetime of the investment, where this difference is positive.
- organisational cooperation
means the development of joint business strategies or management structures, the provision of common services or services to facilitate cooperation, coordinated activities such as research or marketing, the support of networks and clusters, the improvement of accessibility and communication, the use of joint instruments to encourage entrepreneurship and trade with SMEs;
- organisational innovation
means the implementation of a new organisational method at the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the EEA), workplace organisation or external relations, including for instance by making use of novel or innovative digital technologies.
- other products, materials or substances
means materials, products and substances other than waste, including by-products referred to in Article 5 of Directive 2008/98/EC, agricultural and forestry residues, waste water, rain water and runoff water, minerals, nutrients, residual gases from production processes, and redundant products, parts and materials;
- outermost regions
means regions as defined in Article 349 of the Treaty.
- peak-time
means the time of the day with a typical duration of one hour where the network load is usually at its maximum;
- peak-time conditions
means the conditions under which the network is expected to operate at ‘peak-time’;
- personnel costs
means the costs of researchers, technicians and other supporting staff to the extent employed on the relevant project or activity;
- point of destination
means the place where the goods are unloaded;
- point of origin
means the place where the goods are loaded for transport;
- pollutant
means a pollutant as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852;
- polluter
means someone who directly or indirectly damages the environment or who creates conditions leading to such damage.
- pollution
means pollution as defined in Article 3, point (2), of Directive 2010/75/EU;
- port
means an area of land and water made up of such infrastructure and equipment, so as to permit the reception of waterborne vessels, their loading and unloading, the storage of goods, the receipt and delivery of those goods and the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, crew and other persons and any other infrastructure necessary for transport operators in the port;
- port infrastructure
means infrastructure and facilities for the provision of transport related port services, for example berths used for the mooring of ships, quay walls, jetties and floating pontoon ramps in tidal areas, internal basins, backfills and land reclamation, infrastructure for the collection of ship-generated waste and cargo residues and recharging and refuelling infrastructure in ports supplying vehicles, mobile terminal equipment and mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity, hydrogen, ammonia and methanol;
- port superstructure
means surface arrangements (such as for storage), fixed equipment (such as warehouses and terminal buildings) as well as mobile equipment (such as cranes) located in a port for the provision of transport related port services;
- PPP
means that the costs of measures to deal with pollution should be borne by the polluter who causes the pollution;
- premises passed
means end-user premises to which, upon request from end-users and within 4 weeks from the date of request, a provider can provide broadband services (regardless of whether these premises are already connected or not connected to the network).
- preparing for re-use
means preparing for re-use as defined in Article 3, point (16), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- primary agricultural production
means production of products of the soil and of stock farming, listed in Annex I to the Treaty, without performing any further operation changing the nature of such products;
- primary energy
means energy from renewable and non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process;
- process innovation
means the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method, including significant changes in techniques, equipment or software, at the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the EEA), including for instance by making use of novel or innovative digital technologies or solutions.
- processing of agricultural products
means any operation on an agricultural product resulting in a product which is also an agricultural product, except on-farm activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant product for the first sale;
- professional sport
means the practice of sport in the nature of gainful employment or remunerated service, irrespective of whether or not a formal labour contract has been established between the professional sportsperson and the relevant sport organisation, where the compensation exceeds the cost of participation and constitutes a significant part of the income for the sportsperson.
- quasi-equity investment
means a type of financing that ranks between equity and debt, having a higher risk than senior debt and a lower risk than common equity and whose return for the holder is predominantly based on the profits or losses of the underlying target undertaking and which are unsecured in the event of default.
- re-use
means re-use as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- recharging infrastructure
means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles or mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity;
- recovery
means recovery as defined in Article 3, point (15), of Directive 2008/98/EC as well as recovery of other products, materials or substances;
- recycling
means recycling as defined in Article 3, point (17), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- redundant products, parts and materials
means products, parts or materials that are no longer needed by or useful for its holder but are suitable for re-use;
- refuelling infrastructure
means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles or mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with hydrogen;
- regional airport
means an airport with average annual passenger traffic of up to 3 million passengers;
- regional investment aid
means regional aid granted for an initial investment or an initial investment in favour of a new economic activity;
- regional operating aid
means aid to reduce an undertaking's current expenditure, including categories such as personnel costs, materials, contracted services, communications, energy, maintenance, rent, administration, but excluding depreciation charges and the costs of financing related to an investment that benefited from investment aid;
- rehabilitation
means environmental management actions that aim to reinstate a level of ecosystem functioning on degraded sites, where the goal is renewed and ongoing provision of ecosystem services rather than the biodiversity and integrity of a designated natural or semi-natural reference ecosystem;
- relevant time horizon
means a time horizon used for verifying planned private investments and corresponds to the time frame that the Member State estimates for deploying the planned State funded network, starting from the moment of publication of the public consultation on the planned State intervention until the entry into operation of the network (i.e. start of the provision of wholesale and/or retail services on the State funded network).
- relocation
means a transfer of the same or similar activity or part thereof from an establishment in one contracting party to the EEA Agreement (initial establishment) to the establishment in which the aided investment takes place in another contracting party to the EEA Agreement (aided establishment).
- remediation
means environmental management actions, such as the removal or detoxification of contaminates or excess nutrients from soil and water, that aim to remove sources of degradation;
- remote regions
means outermost regions, Malta, Cyprus, Ceuta and Melilla, islands which are part of the territory of a Member State and sparsely populated areas;
- renewable electricity
means electricity generated from renewable sources, as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- renewable energy
means energy produced by plants using only renewable energy sources as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, as well as the share in terms of calorific value of energy produced from renewable energy sources in hybrid plants which also use conventional energy sources and includes renewable electricity used for filling storage systems connected behind-the-meter (jointly installed or as an add-on to the renewable installation), but excludes electricity produced as a result of storage systems;
- renewable energy community
means renewable energy community as defined in Article 2, point (16) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- renewable energy sources
means the following renewable non-fossil energy sources: wind, solar, aerothermal, geothermal, hydrothermal and ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases;
- renewable hydrogen
means hydrogen produced from renewable energy in accordance with the methodologies set out for renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- repayable advance
means a loan for a project which is paid in one or more instalments and the conditions for the reimbursement of which depend on the outcome of the project;
- replacement capital
means the purchase of existing shares in a company from an earlier investor or shareholder;
- research and knowledge-dissemination organisation
means an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its legal status (organised under public or private law) or way of financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development or to widely disseminate the results of such activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge transfer.
- research infrastructure
means facilities, resources and related services that are used by the scientific community to conduct research in their respective fields and covers scientific equipment or sets of instruments, knowledge-based resources such as collections, archives or structured scientific information, enabling information and communication technology-based infrastructures such as grid, computing, software and communication, or any other entity of a unique nature essential to conduct research.
- resource efficiency
means reducing the quantity of inputs needed to produce a unit of output or substituting primary inputs with secondary inputs;
- restoration
means the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem as a means of conserving biodiversity and increasing ecosystem resilience, notably to climate change.
- risk finance investment
means equity and quasi-equity investments, loans including leases, guarantees, or a mix thereof to eligible undertakings for the purposes of making new investments;
- same or a similar activity
means an activity in the same class (four-digit numerical code) of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification of economic activities (NACE Rev. 2);
- scheme targeted at a limited number of specific sectors of economic activity
means a scheme which covers activities falling within the scope of less than five classes (four-digit numerical code) of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification.
- secondment
means temporary employment of staff by a beneficiary with the right for the staff to return to the previous employer;
- separate collection
means separate collection as defined in Article 3, point (11), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- severely disadvantaged worker
means any person who:
- share capital
includes, where relevant, any share premium.
- sheltered employment
means employment in an undertaking where at least 30 % of workers are workers with disabilities;
- small mid-cap
means an undertaking that is not an SME and whose number of employees does not exceed 499, calculated in accordance with Articles 3 to 6 of Annex I, the annual turnover of which does not exceed EUR 100 million or the annual balance sheet of which does not exceed EUR 86 million;
- smart recharging
means a recharging operation in which the intensity of electricity delivered to the battery is adjusted in real-time, based on information received through electronic communication;
- smart-readiness
means the capability of buildings or building units to adapt their operation to the needs of the occupant, including optimising energy efficiency and overall performance, and to adapt their operation in response to signals from the grid;
- social services
means clearly identified services, meeting social needs, in particular as regards health and long-term care, childcare, access to and reintegration into the labour market, social housing (which means housing for disadvantaged citizens or socially less advantaged groups who due to solvency constraints are unable to obtain housing at market conditions) and the care and social inclusion of vulnerable groups (as explained in recital 11 of Commission Decision 2012/21/EU);
- socioeconomic drivers
means entities which by their mission, nature or location can directly or indirectly generate important socioeconomic benefits to citizens, business and local communities located in their surrounding territory or in their area of influence, including among others public authorities, public or private entities entrusted with the operation of services of general interest or of services of general economic interest as set out in Article 106(2) of the Treaty and digitally intensive enterprises;
- sparsely populated areas
means NUTS 2 regions with less than 8 inhabitants per km2 or NUTS 3 regions with less than 12,5 inhabitants per km2 or areas which are recognized by the Commission as such in an individual decision on a regional aid map in force at the time the aid is granted;
- standard balancing responsibilities
means non-discriminatory balancing responsibilities across technologies which do not exempt from balance responsibility any generator as set out in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
- start of works
means the earlier of either the start of construction works relating to the investment, or the first legally binding commitment to order equipment or any other commitment that makes the investment irreversible.
- state of the art
means a process in which the re-use of a waste product to manufacture an end product is economically profitable normal practice.
- steel sector
means the production of one or more of the following:
- support services linked to cooperation
means the provision of office space, websites, data banks, libraries, market research, handbooks, working and model documents;
- sustainable biofuel
means a biofuel fulfilling the sustainability criteria set out in Article 17 of Directive 2009/28/EC;
- synthetic fibres sector
means:
- tangible assets
means assets consisting of land, buildings and plant, machinery and equipment;
- testing and experimentation infrastructure
means facilities, equipment, capabilities and resources, such as test beds, pilot lines, demonstrators, testing facilities or living labs, and related support services that are used predominantly by undertakings, especially SMEs, which seek support for testing and experimentation, in order to develop new or improved products, processes and services, and to test and upscale technologies, to advance through industrial research and experimental development.
- thermal storage
means deferring the final use of thermal energy to a moment later than when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical or thermal energy into a form of energy which can be stored, the storing of such energy, and, where appropriate, the subsequent conversion or reconversion of such energy into thermal energy for final use (i.e., heating or cooling);
- total financing
means the overall investment amount made into an eligible undertaking or project under Section 3 or under Articles 16 or 39 of this Regulation to the exclusion of entirely private investments provided on market terms and outside the scope of the relevant State aid measure;
- tourism activity
means the following activities in terms of NACE Rev. 2:
- transmission
means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on the extra high-voltage and high-voltage interconnected system with a view to its delivery to final customers or to distributors, but does not include supply and ‘distribution’ means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on high-voltage, medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its delivery to customers, but does not include supply;
- transmission system operator
(TSO) means a transmission system operator as defined in Article 2, point (35), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
- transport
means transport of passengers by aircraft, maritime transport, road, rail, or by inland waterway or freight transport services for hire or reward;
- transport costs
means the costs of transport for hire or reward actually paid by the beneficiaries per journey, comprising: