On 2 December 2011 roughly 100 stakeholders from various member States were assembled in the Academic Building at the Leiden University for a day of talks and debates on a range of State aid issues. I. Introduction The EStAL autumn conference was held on Friday 2 December 2011 at the University of Leiden, following a State aid workshop held on Thursday 1 December 2011. The conference took place in the beautiful and historic setting