State aid

State aid is one of the fastest-changing areas of law. Given the current economic and geopolitical situation, past crises and green transformation of the economy, the EU and its Member States along with many other governments outside the bloc have introduced far-reaching State aid schemes and guidelines. 

We advise both public bodies and private and state-owned companies on all aspects of State aid rules in the EU and in all other countries which have also introduced legal regimes to control subsidies (including the UK post-Brexit). 

State aid – our services 

We help businesses to get the most out of State aid in their discussions with State authorities and represent their interests in all State aid proceedings before the EU Commission, national authorities, and EU and national courts. We provide advice to public authorities on all levels (federal governments, regions, municipalities) on their public investments (capital injections, public loans, guarantees, land sales etc.), decisions to grant individual aid and the setting up of State aid schemes and we assist them – often also in the interests of our private clients – in notifications to the European Commission. We have advised several governments in Europe on the set-up of far-reaching State aid schemes with a multi-billion Euro total budget and/or supportive measures based on these programmes and on support in individual cases (e.g., rescue and restructuring aid).

We advise private companies on designing their State aid strategies, e.g. relating to green transformation of the economy or state-funded initiatives to make the economy more resilient (e.g. the EU’s Chips Act, gas and energy supply). We are also familiar with the specific requirements of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI). 

Foreign subsidies control

The foreign subsidies control system sees the EU extending State aid scrutiny to subsidies that are or have been granted to companies by third-country governments. The regulation aims to eliminate distortions of competition caused by third countries granting subsidies to companies that operate in the EU’s single market. It establishes a general framework that allows the Commission to investigate third-country subsidies when they affect economic activities in the single market. The aim is to ensure fair competition between all the companies operating in the single market. We help companies to prepare for the new regulation and assess the associated business risks.