The second-largest recipient of aid approved by Brussels was France, receiving 36.43 billion euros, accounting for 19.5% of the total, followed by Italy with 21.61 billion euros or 11.6%.
Spain ranks fourth, receiving about 5% of the total EU aid, amounting to approximately 10 billion euros, although specific data were not provided by the European Commission and only a graphical comparison was available.
The overall EU-27 aid represented an average of 1.09% of the European Union’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with individual country values ranging between 2.9% and 0.4% of their national GDP.
The amount of aid provided in 2023 was 23.23% less than the 243.27 billion euros allocated in 2022, according to the Commission.
The most significant reductions in spending are attributed to the gradual phasing out of crisis aids aimed at mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, noted the European Commission in a statement, declaring that state aid spending entered “a phase of normalization” in 2023.
“Member States have channeled 73% of the funds toward EU policy objectives such as environmental protection, energy savings, research, development and innovation, as well as regional development,” stated the European Commission.
This represents a total of 136.78 billion euros, which is 0.8% of the EU’s GDP, marking a 14% increase from 2022, when these measures absorbed 119.98 billion euros, accounting for 49% of the total.
Specifically, the EU-27 allocated about 30% of the total aids, or 55.32 billion euros, to environmental protection and energy savings.
The second political objective was to remedy a serious economic disturbance, which accounted for about 25% of the state aid provided by the EU, according to the European Commission.
Regarding Portugal, the document does not disclose exact figures but indicates that since 2013, the country has increased its expenditure on state aids by 183%.
