General block exemption: The European Commission publishes a general block exemption permitting certain categories of State aid aiming at the "Lisbon" objectives like employment and growth are automatically considered compatible with the Common market (Art. 87 - 88 EC)

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. – Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General block exemption Regulation) The European Commission adopted a Regulation on 7 July 2008, which entered into force on 29 September 2008. The Regulation automatically authorises a series of aid measures, allowing Member States to grant such aid without prior notification to the Commission. The regulation authorises aid for SMEs,