State aid control is the cornerstone of the proper functioning of the internal market. State aid cases primarily concern the recipient States. Secondly, they concern companies that gain a selective advantage affecting or likely to affect trade between Member States and market competition.

The first difficult aspect lies with determining whether or not an action taken/programme constitutes aid and then assessing whether the given aid is to be considered compatible with the common market. Despite the general prohibition of State aid, the legislation specifies many exemptions for aid that enhances the efficiency of the single market and boosts the European economy. The Commission’s implementation of the State aid policy has progressively resulted in a strengthening of the Commission’s control over the most complex forms of aid and an increased liability of the Member States in granting forms of aid.

This course will cover the following crucial topics:

The notion of State aid
State aid procedures: notified aid, unlawful aid (recovery), misuse of aid and existing aid
The compatibility of State aid
The Block Exemption Regulations
The horizontal and sectoral aid rules
And will, accordingly, focus on:

The concept of State aid.
The crucial judgments of the CJUE on State aid.
The European Commission’s enforcement priorities.
The revision of State aid instruments.
The enforcement of State aid rules by national courts.
What will you learn:

Participants will learn about the

Basic principles of EU State aid policy.
Latest developments on State aid rules.
Recent case law of the CJUE.
Enforcement of State aid rules by national court.