Giulia Sonderegger

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 18 (2019), Issue 3, Page 264 - 273

Rescuing and restructuring aid (R&R aid) is one of the most controversially debated categories of State aid and perceived very critically by the Commission. In the course of the State aid modernisation programme in 2014, the Commission has tightened the requirements to grant such aid by introducing a non-exhaustive list of balancing criteria. This counterfactual analysis increasingly shifts the focus to the economic effects of R&R aid and the incentives it creates. The modernised R&R aid therefore primarily aims at promoting a more reliable assessment of all the effects of an intervention whilst enhancing the predictability of decisions. Despite the efforts the Commission has put into improving R&R rules, this article asserts that due to R&R aid’s pervasive and distortive nature, it can hardly ever be justified and should consequently be replaced with other, less distortive market instruments, such as harmonised insolvency proceedings. Considering the fact that the EU consists of 28 countries with various national interests, the currently very restrictive practice of R&R aid could, however, be seen as a temporary compromise solution between Member States and the Commission. Keywords: Rescue and Restructuring Aid; State aid Modernisation; Justifiability of Rescue and Restructuring Aid

Barbara Brandtner, Daniele Vidoni

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 17 (2018), Issue 4, Page 475 - 482

The Commission requirement concerning the evaluation of State aid schemes is one of the pillars of the State Aid Modernisation (SAM) reform of 2014. The aim of the evaluations conducted under State aid rules is to provide evidence on both the direct impact of the aid on its beneficiaries and on its indirect impacts, positive and negative, as well as on the proportionality and appropriateness of the aid measure. This article provides an account of the state of play in the evaluation of State aid schemes. To this end, we analyse the legal framework of the evaluation requirements as outlined under the General Block Exemption Regulation and under different State aid guidelines, and synthesise the characteristics of the current 45 evaluation plans, and of the Commission decisions approving them. Finally we discuss the lessons learnt from the first final evaluation reports submitted and reflect on challenges ahead. Keywords: State aid Modernisation; State aid control; Evaluation plan.

Nicole Robins, Hannes Geldof

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 17 (2018), Issue 4, Page 494 - 508

The EU’s State aid modernisation reforms introduced a role for ex post evaluations of aid schemes. State aid evaluation provides an opportunity to continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of aid schemes to ensure that their positive impact outweighs possible distortions to competition and trade. Traditionally, the role for an extensive analysis of the impact of aid on competition has been limited compared with other areas of competition policy, such as merger control, and assessments of anticompetitive agreements or abuse of dominance. The European Commission therefore asked Oxera to develop an economic framework that can be used to assess the competitive effects of aid, and to gain further insights into the actual impact of aid on competition. Oxera’s study may have significant implications for future State aid control. This article discusses the economic framework developed by Oxera as well as insights from Oxera’s study into the main drivers of the likely impact of aid on competition.

Nick Wright

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 17 (2018), Issue 4, Page 525 - 533

The UK has long regarded evaluation as a fundamental part of the policy development cycle and has had a broadly positive experience in meeting the new State aid evaluation requirements. This article sets out the UK’s approach to policy evaluations and considers the opportunity that the State aid requirements present to improve policies, but also notes that there can be a challenge in applying the Commission’s favoured counterfactual methodology, which might not be appropriate in all cases. The article recommends that the Commission continues to work with Member States to develop good practice, including accepting alternative methodologies when they are robust. This will help to ensure that the State aid evaluation requirements support both the effective delivery of policy, and support State aid compliance. The article concludes that, while there is always scope for improvement in the Commission’s approach, the requirements provide a real incentive for public authorities to accurately measure the effectiveness of State aid interventions in markets. This in turn facilitates evidence-based policy making, which should lead to better targeted measures that generate better policy outcomes. Keywords: Evaluation methodologies; State aid Modernisation; Effectiveness of aid.

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.