Sarah Beeston, Pim Jansen, Kiek Brink

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 17 (2018), Issue 3, Page 328 - 337

The European Commission sees the ports sector as a driving force for economic growth and regional development in Europe. It has recently developed various policy initiatives in this sector and taken measures whereby State aid control forms the key element. The Commission has opted for an approach based on two interlinked pillars. First, the Commission intends to create a (more) level playing field among European Union Member States, by using State aid rules to curb tax benefits for (public) companies in the ports sector. Second, further to the State Aid Modernisation Programme, the Commission is, to an increasing extent, pursuing an active European economic policy in the ports sector by means of exemptions from the prohibition of State aid. As a result, certain aid measures targeting market failures and objectives of a common European interest are permissible. In this article we will provide an analysis of recent developments and place them in their legal and policy-related context. We will specifically discuss the impact of these developments on seaports in the Netherlands.

Péter Staviczky

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 4, Page 559 - 566

The issues highlighted in the present paper were presented at the 15th Experts’ Forum on the New Developments in European State aid Law in Brussels in cooperation with Mr. Antonios Bouchagiar (Legal Service, EC). The main aim of the presentation was to draw attention to some of the difficulties MS face when granting regional aid to projects where large undertakings and/or relocation of economic activities might be involved. Keywords: Regional Aid; SAM; RAG; GBER; Relocation.