George Peretz QC

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 20 (2021), Issue 3, Page 455 - 458

Phedon Nicolaides

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 20 (2021), Issue 3, Page 370 - 383

Now that the UK is no longer a member of the European Union it has to substitute the EU system of State aid control with its own system for the control of subsidies. Brexiters have argued that this presents a unique opportunity to the UK to design a system that is less cumbersome and more effective than that of the EU. This article examines how the draft Subsidy Control Bill intends to address the three problems of the design of institutions responsible for the control of State aid or subsidies; ie the problems of discovery, assessment and enforcement. If finds that, by comparison to the EU system, the proposed UK system seems to grant more leeway to public authorities and to impose fewer formal requirements but also to require assessment of most subsidies by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). At the same time, the greater leeway creates more uncertainty about the conformity of subsidies with the various principles laid down in the Subsidy Control Bill. The Bill also leaves several issues unclear, especially with regard to the status of subsidies which are not referred to the CMA or subsidies which are granted contrary to CMA recommendations. The powers of the CMA are certainly more limited than those of the Commission. Keywords: EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; UK Subsidy Control Bill; State aid regime; Competition and Markets Authority; Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Steven Verschuur, Cecilia Sbrolli

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 3, Page 284 - 289

The European Green Deal is the prelude and the foundation of a daunting, but necessary, environmental-centric industrial revolution. EU legislation has obviously dealt with environmental policies in the past, but the European Green Deal is a far-reaching project that will require unprecedented investments. The transition envisioned in the European Green Deal will also require amendments to a wide variety of existing EU legislation and policies, including in the field of State aid. The Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy (EEAG), in force until the end of 2021, are the legal framework in force to assess environmental State aid. This raises the question whether these Guidelines are a suitable instrument to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal. This paper is the first of a series that will discuss the interplay between existing State aid rules and policy on the one hand and the European Green Deal on the other. It will provide a broader introduction to the European Green Deal and its envisaged means of financing and will discuss the application of the incentive effect to the State aid assessment of national support measures to achieve objectives of the European Green Deal. Keywords: EU Green Deal, Environmental and Energy Guidelines, incentive effect, environmental targets, financing

Maria-Konstantina Lili-Kokkori

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 4, Page 525 - 528

Juan Jorge Piernas López

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 4, Page 531 - 533

Sara Gobbato

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 4, Page 528 - 530

Georgiana Pop, Ana Amador

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 2, Page 127 - 136

All countries across the globe are speeding up economic measures to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these measures, which have adopted different forms, fundamentally aim at providing liquidity to companies and reducing the pressure on cash-flows of most affected sectors. Even if subsidies and State aid can provide immediate support to ailing companies in extraordinary circumstances, governments should not forget the disruptive effects that subsidies can bring on competition and international trade in the longer run. Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, subsidies, design, general measures, EU Temporary Framework

Kseniia Smyrnova, Erika Szyszczak

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 19 (2020), Issue 1, Page 8 - 18

In recent years competition clauses (including the unique EU State aid rules) have been introduced into EU trade Treaties and in particular, the EU is developing a neighbourhood policy where trade should be open but on the same, or very similar regulatory terms as EU internal policies. One of the most advanced forms of competition clauses being used in a trade Treaty is the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement 2014 together with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement 2016. In particular Ukraine must establish a similar form of State aid control to the model used internally in the EU, linking the concepts of competition and market access. Within a relatively short period of time Ukraine has created a State aid unit within its Antimonopoly Committee (AMC) and this unit is responsible for scrutinizing and investigating a very large number of State aid notifications with a very small and inexperienced staff. This Article examines how the regulation of State aid has been transformed in Ukraine, contributing to an internal modernization of industrial policy, allowing for greater transparency and scrutiny of the use of public finances in Ukraine. In so doing, the Article identifies the challenges already faced by the AMC and the potential for improving the system of State aid control in Ukraine. Keywords: Ukraine; Industrial policy; Association Agreement; EU trade policy.

Dragan Gajin

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 18 (2019), Issue 4, Page 575 - 577

Erika Szyszczak

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 470 - 475

The latest Call from the European Commission identifies the training of national judges in EU State aid law as one of its priority areas. The number of State aid cases at the national level is increasing and present complex issue of law and economics for national judges to solve. A recent training session at the Spanish Judicial School in Barcelona reveals how a successful programme of training can be organised, highlighting the many recent State aid issues that have been identified in European Commission policy documents and Decisions and case law of the European Courts. Keywords: National Judges; Training Programmes; Law and Economics.