Company in difficulty: The Court of Justice of the European Union clarifies the concept of a firm in difficulty within the meaning of the block exemption regulation, taking into account its purpose (SIA Zinātnes parks)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. The Zinatses parks judgment concerns a case of granting of structural funds and more specifically a project in the framework of a co-financing program of the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). Project proposals are rejected when submitted by companies in difficulty, as they are not considered appropriate vehicles for regional development. The ERDF regulation refers to the definition of a firm in difficulty given in the general block exemption regulation on state aid, which itself uses a fairly simple definition that does not require an assessment by the national authorities of all the specific characteristics of a firm's situation. The context in