State Aid Law of the European Union

TIMELY REFORM OF THE EUS STATE AID LAWS

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of 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, whos 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 youre an EU bureaucrat, youll love it. If you arent you wont. 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 Commissions 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

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=vtsrVlMa5e4

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• richmond green chambers
• sweet and maxwell
• european union

[JauntyCrow]

Philip

Thank you for raising the profile of State Aid law.

This is an increasingly important area which is a bit of a mystery to most Brits!

[goodbyee007]

Many thanks, JauntyCrow. I will be reviewing some further books in due course.

Kind regards

Phillip

[goodbyee007]

Many thanks, Maja.

I have just seen your comments as I am in Canada at the present time.

Please pass my best wishes to your father for his time and effort in producing this important work.

Kind regards

Phillip

[gettherise]

sounds usefull thanks you for it

[malovela]

Dear mr. Taylor,

I'm Peter Vesterdorf's daughter, and I want to tell you how much I appreciated hearing your positive review of 'his' book. My father's pc doesn't have sound at the moment, which means that he could only see you talking, not hear you, so he called me to listen through my phone. He's thrilled by your words, as am I; this makes me even prouder of him than I already was. So thank you - for reading the book, for recommending it, and for sharing your opinion in here.

Sincerely, Maja