The European Commission invites SMEs to express their views and opinions on the revision of the R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations.
The R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations exempt certain categories of R&D, specialisation and joint production agreements from the prohibition of agreements that restrict competition.
The Commission is exploring options to encourage the participation of SMEs in R&D, specialisation and joint production agreements that do not raise competition concerns. The policy options currently identified include the potential introduction of a specific category of R&D, specialisation and/or joint production agreements exempted by the R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations, subject to conditions to be defined, in case such agreements are concluded by SMEs. The Commission is further exploring options to clarify certain definitions and limiting (and/or potentially removing) certain condition(s) in the R&D Block Exemption Regulation for SMEs.
If you wish to participate, the targeted consultation on R&D cooperation agreements is available here (password: RDHBERS) and for specialisation/joint production agreements here (password: SpecHBERS).
Please complete your replies by 30 September 2021.
Further information
An information session can be organised in the coming weeks. Please express your interest by sending an email to COMP-HBERS-REVIEW@ec.europa.eu. Questions regarding the targeted consultations should also be sent to COMP-HBERS-REVIEW@ec.europa.eu.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.