Public Funding, Grants And Subsidies in Germany

On average, these grants amount to about 10 percent of the annual budget of the German federal and state governments. This amounts to approximately EUR 60 billion per year, distributed over several funding pools and several hundred different funding projects.

Almost anyone who promotes the interests of the state can be considered as a recipient of such public funding. Subsidies exist for large companies as well as for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

For the grant recipient, the funding has a supporting or incentive function, depending on their motives. For the state, on the other hand, it is economical and expedient, since the state does not have to act itself, but can use the competences of the grant recipient.

Depending on the project, grants and subsidies can be structured in different ways in Germany, for example as

• Grants,
• Warranties,
• Favorable loans,
• Sureties,
• Guarantees,
• Investments or other benefits.

When the state or the federal states or the municipalities conceive such a grant, it is usually associated with questions of state aid law, since this can lead to an impairment of the internal market of the European Union - no matter how small the impairment.

From the point of view of the recipient of the grant, the law on state aid is important as well. If the grant violates state aid law, the administration is forced to reclaim the grant from the recipient.

However, there may also be other reasons for the reimbursement of grants.

This often happens because incorrect information was provided when the grant was applied for. This initially seemingly succinct violation usually not only leads to the recovery of the grant, but also has criminal law consequences.

It also leads to a reclaim if, for example, conditions are not fulfilled or not fulfilled within a set period of time.

For almost all grants, applications must be submitted for the relevant projects before they are started. In some cases, the project may even be started only after the grant has been approved.

In many cases, projects that receive public funding must be made publicly available. This may have to be done at the time of application by means of an appropriately planned presentation or corresponding project descriptions and business plans.

We advise the public sector and the funding agencies on all issues that arise during the funding process. This includes

• The legally compliant design of the grant concept,
• The design of the tender and its implementation,
• Questions of doubt in the context of the processing of the application,
• The design and implementation of performance reviews, and
• Revocation and recovery procedures.

We advise grant recipients on all legal issues that arise during the grant process. These include

• The determination of the application requirements,
• The filing of the application,
• Communication with the sponsor,
• The handling of the funding, e.g. within the scope of accounting up to the control of success,
• The defense against any recovery claims,
• Action against unlawful payments to competitors,
• The conduct of any necessary opposition proceedings and representation in court, and
• The mediation to our partners of the subsidy consultancy.