The State Aid policy, which is integral part of the overall competition policy, has been subject to a comprehensive reform. The European Commission’s State Aid Action Plan 2005-2009 has led to modification of the existing state aid rules. The Commission has not only published new and revised state aid rules both relating to substance and procedure, but it has also closely monitored compliance with these rules.
Compliance with the boundaries set by the state aid rules is essential not only for the Member States and aid beneficiaries, but also for the competitors of the aid beneficiaries. Since the Commission is entitled to recover unlawful state aid granted by the Member States, the protection of our clients’ interests is highly significant.
We assist governmental and municipal institutions in complying with the EC state aid rules. We also advise companies on identifying state aid issues and analyse the behaviour of clients’ competitors in the market.
B&K’s State Aid practise has successfully handled several complex cases, which often have a novelty factor due to the lack of precedents or special circumstances. A large part of the team’s efforts is also directed to preventive advice and case analysis, which has often proven to be a wise investment on the client’s part, in view of the extensive time and resources an investigation or claim regarding these matters would require.