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TIMELY REFORM OF THE EU’S STATE AID LAWS

A review by Phillip Taylor MBE, Richmond Green Chambers

First of all let me nail my (proverbial) colours to the mast and declare myself an enthusiastic European (though UK-born), supporter of the EU and an avid, if somewhat bemused, student of EU law, which, as it proliferates from year to year, appears to be growing as vast as the universe itself.

Perhaps all this explains why, when first dipping into this book, my eyes glazed over just a little, although this is assuredly less the fault of the authors than of the tortuous and tendentious nature of the legislation itself and the way it is drafted.

It does reveal, in my view, the mind-set of any number of EU bureaucrats, who’s ability to convert something relatively simple into a construct of Byzantine complexity has become legendary.

But I digress because this is actually a very useful book. Translated from the original Danish, it provides, as far as I can tell, everything you need to know about EU state aid and EU state aid law. If you’re an EU bureaucrat, you’ll love it. If you aren’t you won’t. But you will nonetheless value it as a definitive work in this complex area of law.

If you need clarification of what ‘State aid’ is, you will find it herein, as long as you happy with an elaborate explanation rather than a succinct definition. “State aid”, say the authors:

‘is an objective term, but as discussed in paras 1-020 to 1-047 it is often difficult to determine whether an actual measure in fact constitutes aid. However, in principle the Commission does not have any discretionary powers with regard to such a decision. The use of the market economy investor principle as a basis for determining whether aid exists is often connected with a complex economic assessment, so that the ECJ is reluctant to apply its own assessment of whether aid exists in place of the Commission’s assessment;...’

So now you know!

I was grateful when I read this, that I had already read earlier in the text, the examples of the Different Kinds of Aid, in what the authors reassuringly refer to as ‘everyday language’. Ah, bless! Understanding is always more immediate when you give examples, which include environmental aid, investment aid, research and development aid and more.

Most of the purposes listed for such aid are laudable of course, although one or two are controversial, including the one about supporting industry and commerce ‘which is no longer competitive’. A good question to consider is if one wonders how much aid is needed for a purpose like this, and where the pecuniary support is actually meant to come from!

On balance, the authors have done a commendable job with their thorough coverage of this unexpectedly complicated subject area and have amply succeeded in their primary aim expressed in their foreword, which is to: ‘provide the reader with a practical tool which can form the basis, for or help solving (sic.) most questions relating to EC State aid law.’ Indeed, a timely reminder of the reforms of our state aid laws.


ISBN: 978-1-847-03-749-7