Juan Jorge Piernas López

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 17 (2018), Ausgabe 2, Seite 274 - 281

Keywords: Regional tax on large retail establishments; Freedom of establishment; Protection of the environment and town and country planning; State aid; Selective measure; Letter from the Commission stating that no further action will be taken on a complaint; Existing aid.

Mercedes Pedraz Calvo

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 16 (2017), Ausgabe 3, Seite 439 - 448

This article examines the challenges that National Judges face when dealing with a State Aid case, referring to the experience made in a Spanish case. The relevance of this case lies in the circumstance that two public interests were in conflict, that of a regional goverment and that of the Spanish Central Administration; moreover, in the fact that the Spanish Supreme Court made a reference for a preliminary ruling, declaring later State aid in the Xunta de Galicia decision while an earlier decision of the first instance Judge according to interim measures would have provided a clearer and more immediate solution. Keywords: Judicial Control; Conflict of Interests; Regional and Central Goverment.

Christian Berger

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 16 (2017), Ausgabe 3, Seite 476 - 481

It is the Member State which is responsible for all State aid granted by authorities on its territory. At the same time, it might not even be aware of aid which may have been granted by a regional or local authority. Local and regional authorities are like the Member State itself active in many fields, both economic and non-economic and sometimes pursue an interventionist aid granting policy on its local territory. It is therefore paramount that the State establishes structures which make sure those local and regional authorities do not grant illegal aid. Member States have adopted different approaches towards this. Most rely on soft measures such as awareness-raising and training, while other have coupled this with more organised enforcement structures or hard legislation. Both central and more federative or devolved Member States face the same problem; the latter has just moved the enforcement responsibility to a different level of government. But in the end, the Member State’s fundamental responsibility remains. Keywords: State Aid Compliance; Local and Regional Level; Enforcement.

Caroline Buts, Phedon Nicolaides

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 16 (2017), Ausgabe 2, Seite 272 - 275

While many islands can be attractive tourist destinations, other parts of the economy often face serious challenges that are the direct result of natural and permanent handicaps. Small islands encounter difficulties in attracting and maintaining manufacturing activities. Additional transport costs as well as the absence of economies of scale and low connectivity can result in investment decisions on the mainland, rather than the island. Multiple policies exist to help islands balance out the disadvantage of being remote, small or sparsely populated. Nevertheless, the State aid rules treat small and remote islands differently, depending on whether they are a region or a Member State. After briefly reviewing the main difficulties encountered by islands, we study the case of Malta. Next, the relevant State aid rules are evaluated, revealing inconsistencies and the need for revisions with important consequences for Malta and Cyprus. Keywords: Regional State Aid; Peripheral Islands; Island States; Transport Costs; Industrial Base.

Péter Staviczky

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 16 (2017), Ausgabe 4, Seite 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.