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Introduction: The Modernization of State Aid Regulation

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Book cover The Modernisation of State Aid for Economic and Social Development

Part of the book series: Studies in European Economic Law and Regulation ((SEELR,volume 14))

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Abstract

The main purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the acknowledged phenomenon of the modernization of State aid regulation and to stress its complexities in order to give the reader a better understanding of the practical relevance of this volume. Beyond the official modernization process, it is also necessary to take into account external factors—other than the EU regulation—that influenced the modification of the State aid concept, that is, the policies of the European Commission, the enforcement difficulties encountered by the Commission and the case law of the European Court of Justice. The chapter at hand also introduces the other chapters and tries to sketch out a common thread for the volume.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See, inter alia, Tosato (2011), pp. 3 et seq.

  2. 2.

    See Ehlermann (1994), pp. 1213 et seq.

  3. 3.

    The only modification consisted of the substitution of “common market” with “internal market”.

  4. 4.

    See Lyons and Kassim (2013), p. 4.

  5. 5.

    For an analysis of the different interests involved in the evolution of the EU concept of State aid, see Piernas Lopez (2015), chapter 1.

  6. 6.

    De Burca (2002), p. 181. The terminology of De Burca has already been borrowed by Piernas Lopez (2015).

  7. 7.

    In this sense, see Tesauro (2011), p. XIII; Köhler (2014), P-165-174.

  8. 8.

    Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty.

  9. 9.

    Council Regulation (EEC) No 17/62: First Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty.

  10. 10.

    Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, EU State Aid Modernisation (SAM), COM (2012) 209 of 8 May 2012.

  11. 11.

    See, inter alia: Walter (2013), pp. 757–772; von Wendland (2015), pp. 25–50; Lever (2013), pp. 5–10.

  12. 12.

    Communication from the Commission, Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, COM (2010) 2020 of 3 March 2010.

  13. 13.

    See Boccaccio (2016).

  14. 14.

    The Commission, on 8 September 2015, published the Member States’ reports on compliance with the rules on State aid for the provision of services of general economic interest (“Almunia package”) in 2012–2014.

  15. 15.

    Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (codification).

  16. 16.

    Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty Text with EEA relevance.

  17. 17.

    Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid.

  18. 18.

    For an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the Commission’s policy on State aid divided into four main periods, see Piernas Lopez (2015), chapter 3.

  19. 19.

    For different periodizations of the evolution of EU competition law, see: Weiler (1991), p. 2403; Wesseling (2000), p. 9; Doleys (2009).

  20. 20.

    See Doleys (2009).

  21. 21.

    See Jacobs (2005).

  22. 22.

    See Tesauro (2011).

  23. 23.

    Commission notice on the enforcement of State aid law by national courts (2009/C 85/01); with regard to the Italian context, see the Casebook edited by F. Capotorti and G. Greco, Aiuti di Stato, available at Eurojus.it (http://libreria. eurojus.it/prodotto/raccolta-aiuti-di-stato).

  24. 24.

    The State Aid Action Plan presented by the Commission launched a comprehensive reform of State aid policy that will cover a 5-year period (2005–2009). The objective was to guarantee the Member States a clear and predictable framework in order to enable them to grant State aid, targeted towards achieving the Lisbon Strategy objectives.

  25. 25.

    See Schepisi (2011), pp. 17 et seq.

  26. 26.

    See, Crocioni (2006), p. 89; Neven and Verouden (2008), p. 99; Garcia and Neven (2004); Nitsche and Heidhues (2005).

  27. 27.

    For an analysis of these two approaches, see Piernas Lopez (2015).

  28. 28.

    See, inter alia: Buendia Sierra (2006), p. 59.

  29. 29.

    See, inter alia: Derenne and Merola (2007); Friederiszick et al. (2008), p. 625.

  30. 30.

    ‘Associazione fra le Società Italiane per Azioni’.

  31. 31.

    See the chapter by Pesaresi and Peduzzi, this volume.

  32. 32.

    See the chapter by Biondi and Stefan, this volume.

  33. 33.

    See, inter alia: Buts et al. (2013), pp. 330–340.

  34. 34.

    Commission Notice on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 2016/C 262/01.

  35. 35.

    See the chapter by Vecchietti, this volume.

  36. 36.

    See the chapter by Nicolaides, this volume.

  37. 37.

    See the chapter by Heimler, this volume.

  38. 38.

    See note 13 above.

  39. 39.

    See the chapter by Szyszczak, this volume.

  40. 40.

    Case C-280/00 Altmark Trans GmbH and Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg v Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark GmbH [2003] ECR I-7747.

  41. 41.

    See the chapter by Bruzzone and Boccaccio, this volume.

  42. 42.

    See the chapter by Siragusa and Rizza, this volume.

  43. 43.

    Communication from the Commission of 19 May 2010 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions—A Digital Agenda for Europe [COM(2010) 245]. The Digital Agenda presented by the European Commission forms one of the seven pillars of the Europe 2020 Strategy which sets objectives for the growth of the European Union by 2020. The Digital Agenda proposes to better exploit the potential of Information and Communication Technologies in order to foster innovation, economic growth and progress.

  44. 44.

    Communication from the Commission, Community Guidelines for the application of State aid rules in relation to rapid deployment of broadband networks Text with EEA relevance, OJ C 235 of 30 September 2009, pp. 7–25.

  45. 45.

    See the chapter by Merola and Diaz, this volume.

  46. 46.

    Communication from the Commission—Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014–2020, OJ C 200 of 28 June 2014, pp. 1–55.

  47. 47.

    See note 14 above.

  48. 48.

    See the chapter by Gallo, this volume.

  49. 49.

    See note 38 above.

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  1. University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Bruno Nascimbene

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    Bruno Nascimbene

  2. Faculty of Law, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Alessia Di Pascale

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Nascimbene, B. (2018). Introduction: The Modernization of State Aid Regulation. In: Nascimbene, B., Di Pascale, A. (eds) The Modernisation of State Aid for Economic and Social Development. Studies in European Economic Law and Regulation, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99226-6_1

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