State Aid

Rules of State aid have the objective not to distort competition and trade within the European Union. State aid can be provided in different forms such as loans or tax advantages by national public authorities to companies, which can be legal or illegal. The European Commission operates a notification and clearance system regarding State aid and possesses strong investigative and decision-making powers. It is only after the approval by the European Commission that an aid measure can be implemented. Moreover, the European Commission has the power to recover incompatible State aid.

Apart from advising clients upfront whether a certain measure constitutes State aid and help during the notification process, we also advice during recovery proceedings. In addition, we regularly support a company in the course of transactions to discover illegally receive aid or act on behalf of a third party complainant.