[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":135},["ShallowReactive",2],{"naujienos/state-aid-workshop-for-more-opportunities-how-businesses-are-assessed-when-applying-for-funding/en":3},{"status":4,"data":5},true,{"image":6,"id":14,"seo":15,"title":12,"date":90,"url":86,"fullUrl":26,"text":91,"excerpt":25,"more":92,"tags":133,"temos":134},{"src":7,"is_svg":8,"ratio":9,"width":10,"height":11,"alt":12,"caption":13},"https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/valstybes-pagalbos-dirbtuves-giedre-indriuliene2-1.png",false,0.562588702810105,3523,1982,"State aid workshop for more opportunities: how businesses are assessed when applying for funding","",6944,{"title":16,"robots":17,"og_locale":23,"og_type":24,"og_title":16,"og_description":25,"og_url":26,"og_site_name":27,"article_publisher":28,"og_image":29,"twitter_card":34,"schema":35,"breadcrumbs":78,"description":13,"language":87},"State aid workshop for more opportunities: how businesses are assessed when applying for funding - Inovacijų agentūra",{"index":18,"follow":19,"max-snippet":20,"max-image-preview":21,"max-video-preview":22},"index","follow","max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview:-1","en_US","article","To help businesses take advantage of the opportunities and calls of the EU financial period, the Innovation Agency organised a State aid workshop last Wednesday. At the workshop, the experts of the Agency gave a detailed presentation on how to assess companies applying for funding and answered key questions.","https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/naujiena/state-aid-workshop-for-more-opportunities-how-businesses-are-assessed-when-applying-for-funding/","Inovacijų agentūra","https://www.facebook.com/inovacijuagentura",[30],{"width":31,"height":32,"url":7,"type":33},"3523","1982","image/png","summary_large_image",{"@context":36,"@graph":37},"https://schema.org",[38,53,55,65,69],{"@type":39,"@id":26,"url":26,"name":16,"isPartOf":40,"primaryImageOfPage":42,"image":44,"thumbnailUrl":7,"datePublished":45,"breadcrumb":46,"inLanguage":48,"potentialAction":49},"WebPage",{"@id":41},"https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/#website",{"@id":43},"https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/naujiena/state-aid-workshop-for-more-opportunities-how-businesses-are-assessed-when-applying-for-funding/#primaryimage",{"@id":43},"2023-11-16T20:00:00+00:00",{"@id":47},"https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/naujiena/state-aid-workshop-for-more-opportunities-how-businesses-are-assessed-when-applying-for-funding/#breadcrumb","en-US",[50],{"@type":51,"target":52},"ReadAction",[26],{"@type":54,"inLanguage":48,"@id":43,"url":7,"contentUrl":7,"width":31,"height":32,"caption":12},"ImageObject",{"@type":56,"@id":47,"itemListElement":57},"BreadcrumbList",[58,63],{"@type":59,"position":60,"name":61,"item":62},"ListItem","1","Home","https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/",{"@type":59,"position":64,"name":12},"2",{"@type":66,"@id":41,"url":62,"name":27,"description":13,"publisher":67,"inLanguage":48},"WebSite",{"@id":68},"https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/#organization",{"@type":70,"@id":68,"name":27,"url":62,"logo":71,"image":76,"sameAs":77},"Organization",{"@type":54,"inLanguage":48,"@id":72,"url":73,"contentUrl":73,"width":74,"height":75,"caption":27},"https://www.inovacijuagentura.lt/en/#/schema/logo/image/","https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ia-logo-main.svg","1886","786",{"@id":72},[28],[79,82,85],{"url":80,"text":61,"id":81},"/en/",7576,{"url":83,"text":84},"/en/news/","News",{"url":86,"text":12,"id":14},"/en/naujiena/state-aid-workshop-for-more-opportunities-how-businesses-are-assessed-when-applying-for-funding/",[88],{"url":26,"code":89,"locale":89,"default":8},"en","2023-11-16","\u003Cp>The Innovation Agency regularly surveys business representatives on current topics and issues. The surveys show that the most common concerns for applicants when preparing their applications are the determination of the size of the company, of associated and partner companies, of the de minimis aid balance, and whether the company is not a company in difficulty.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>What matters when determining company status\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>During the meeting, Dovilė Zaleskienė, Programme Manager of the Business Productivity Projects Division of the Innovation Agency, emphasised that it is important for companies to determine their status (size), which correlates to their eligibility for a specific call. The status of a company also determines the intensity of funding.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“The purpose of self-assessment is to determine the size of the company. It can be micro, small, medium or large. I recommend starting with a diagram that clearly shows the links with other companies. This will allow you to determine whether the company is independent, and the scope of declaration will thus become clearer,” shared Ms Zaleskienė.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>This is important because all associated and partner companies are assessed and this assessment serves as the basis for a decision on the final status of the company. An independent company is one that does not hold the shares, interests or votes in other companies or holds up to 25% (or vice versa). A non-independent company is one which holds 25% or more of the shares, interests or votes in another company (or vice versa).\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>In the new EU financial period, the treatment of a company under EU law changes: a natural person is considered to be engaged in an economic activity if he/she meets two criteria: he/she holds a controlling interest (the majority of votes) and is directly involved in the management of the company (being a manager or a member of the board). In this case, according to the expert, he/she is also included in the assessment.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The expert pointed out that the assessment criteria may seem confusing at first sight, especially when determining the status of a company, if there have been changes in recent years, and therefore recommends that companies take the simpler route of completing a SME declaration. “Here, the size of the company is automatically determined based on certain data collected. For the status assessment, the last two years are used if the status has not changed, or the last three years if the status has changed,” the representative of the Innovation Agency commented.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>In addition to the formal assessment, other links between companies, such as economic, financial and organisational, are also reviewed to see if they are associated. Characteristics such as interest-free loans or other non-market transactions, the same address for premises or website, the same marketing strategy, the same employees, managers or board members, family members.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that the support reaches those companies for which it is intended. The aim is not only to comply formally with the regulations, but also to balance a sense of fairness so that the rules of the game are the same for all businesses, which is why the assessment seeks to establish the actual (real) links between companies,” says Rokas Didžiapetris, Head of the Legal Department of the Innovation Agency.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Selecting companies that are not in difficulty\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>When assessing applications, companies must also pass through a difficulty assessment filter. Ričardas Raščiukas, Senior Project Manager of the Business Promotion Division of the Innovation Agency, noted that this way, when selecting target beneficiaries, the risk is assessed to ensure that businesses at risk of insolvency are not funded and that EU funds are not lost.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“Both the applicant and the entity are assessed – if there are associated companies, the whole sample is assessed,” says Mr Raščiukas.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Companies are generally assessed against five criteria, but depending on the status and the period of activity, fewer criteria may be applied. Companies in difficulty are defined as companies that have lost more than half of their capital due to accumulated losses, also companies that are subject to collective insolvency proceedings or may be subject to insolvency proceedings at the request of their creditors, and companies that have received rescue or restructuring aid. In the case of large companies, an additional assessment of financial indicators is carried out, i.e. an assessment of the company’s debt/equity ratio and EBITDA interest coverage ratio.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>According to the representative of the Innovation Agency, the assessment of difficulties is based only on the annual certified financial statements, so that interim financial developments of the company during the year do not affect the assessment process.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Assessing the balance of de minimis aid and setting priorities\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Giedrė Indriulienė, Head of the Creative and International Investments Division of the Innovation Agency, touched upon the assessment of de minimis aid during the workshop. This is a small amount of state support for business – up to EUR 200 000 over three financial years – which is not subject to the requirement of coordination with the European Commission.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The assessment of applicants for such aid also identifies the associated companies, since the entire scope is assessed. It is important to note that the de minimis aid of EUR 200 000 is calculated and granted at the level of a single company. A single company is defined as a company together with all its associated companies. According to Ms Indriulienė, it is often the case that businesses apply for several grants at the same time, even though they do not have a sufficient balance of de minimis aid.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“I would recommend setting clear priorities and focusing on the instruments that will add the most value to the business. Jumping across different financial measures can delay the granting of support,” she pointed out.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The current de minimis aid regulation is valid until the end of this year. A new regulation will follow, which is likely to amend the conditions for business support. A video of the seminar and presentation slides can be found HERE.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The funding portfolio of the Innovation Agency currently totals around EUR 873 million, including the EU Investment for the 2021–2027 financial period (EUR 511.2 million), the Just Transition Fund for the 2021–2027 period (EUR 273 million), the mission-based science and innovation programme funding (EUR 77.7 million), the Norwegian Financial Mechanism Programme (EUR 2.99 million) and the 2022 Lithuanian State Budget funding measures (EUR 2.1 million). This investment funding will reach Lithuanian businesses throughout the years of the financial period.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The projects are funded by the Programme for the EU Funds’ Investments 2021–2027.\u003C/p>\n",[93,102,111,125],{"image":94,"title":97,"url":98,"id":99,"text":100,"temos":101},{"src":95,"is_svg":8,"ratio":96,"alt":97,"caption":13},"https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kosmoso-memorandumas-su-polsa.jpg",0.6669921875,"Lithuania Strengthens Cooperation with Poland and the United States in the Space Sector: Important Memorandums Signed","/en/naujiena/lithuania-strengthens-cooperation-with-poland-and-the-united-states-in-the-space-sector-important-memorandums-signed/",6748,"Lithuania’s space sector continues to strengthen international partnerships and expand cooperation with key players in the global space industry. Innovation Agency Lithuania has recently signed two significant memorandums of understanding – with the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) and the U.S. space infrastructure company Vast. These agreements open new opportunities for Lithuanian businesses, research institutions, and international projects.",[],{"image":103,"title":106,"url":107,"id":108,"text":109,"temos":110},{"src":104,"is_svg":8,"ratio":105,"alt":106,"caption":13},"https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/shutterstock-2539768243-1.jpg",0.7490234375,"Lithuania Ranks First in Europe in the Global Entrepreneurship Index","/en/naujiena/lithuania-ranks-first-in-europe-in-the-global-entrepreneurship-index/",6892,"The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 global report shows that Lithuania is the leading country in Europe in terms of the quality of its entrepreneurial environment and ranks among the world’s strongest economies in this field.",[],{"image":112,"title":114,"url":115,"id":116,"text":117,"temos":118},{"src":113,"is_svg":8,"ratio":96,"alt":114,"caption":13},"https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karolina-urbonaite.jpg","Lithuania’s Startup Ecosystem Surpasses €16.4 Billion in Value: Investments Jump 1.7x in 2025","/en/naujiena/lithuanias-startup-ecosystem-surpasses-e16-4-billion-in-value-investments-jump-1-7x-in-2025/",6999,"The total value of Lithuania’s startup ecosystem reached €16.4 billion in 2025, according to the latest Dealroom report initiated by Startup Lithuania, a division of the Innovation Agency. In just one year, Lithuanian startups attracted €220 million in venture capital investments from 77 unique investors. The ecosystem’s growing maturity was further confirmed earlier this year with the addition of a new unicorn to Lithuania’s startup map — Cast AI.",[119,122],{"id":120,"name":121},577,"Growth",{"id":123,"name":124},579,"Innovation",{"image":126,"title":128,"url":129,"id":130,"text":131,"temos":132},{"src":127,"is_svg":8,"ratio":96,"alt":128,"caption":13},"https://web-prod.inovacijuagentura.lt/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/modix-fgf-3d-spausdintuvas-2.jpg","Mission-Driven Innovations: Science and Business Shaping Lithuania’s Future","/en/naujiena/mission-driven-innovations-science-and-business-shaping-lithuanias-future/",6904,"Some important scientific research activities and innovative business-developed products may sound complex – unsurprisingly, as they are developed by people who dedicate their entire lives to these fields. Yet behind these sophisticated terms lie concrete solutions that will eventually make each of our daily lives easier. Where science and business join forces, more accurate disease diagnostics for the health of us and our loved ones are developed, cybersecurity tools are created to protect the country, and climate-neutral production technologies and materials emerge to help preserve our nature and resources.",[],[],[],1780325203426]