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European Competition Law - Essay Example

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From the paper "European Competition Law" it is clear that it is about time the EU commission acknowledged that the provision of regional aid is a necessary evil and member states need this flexibility to come to terms with their own regional problems through their own mechanisms…
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European Competition Law
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European Competition Law The UK Aid Analysis Control of Aid is essential since a single market cannot function properly if its member states were giving subsidies to their industries to give them an unfair edge over the rest of the Member States. The Single market was instrumental in pulling down tariff walls and other trade barriers. However this does not mean that State Aid cannot be legitimate and the EU policy and law does allow for it for example in support of regional development or new investments. The essay discusses the rather unusual say of the EU Commission in allowing Member States' to use or grant State Aid which can potentially be cleverly disguised as cash grants, fiscal exemptions or fake loans. What follows is a general discussion of State Aid in the European Union followed by the Judicial and Academic attitudes towards it in the United Kingdom. Although in the past State Aid was considered a "poor relative" of European competition law and viewed as a rather politically motivated/policy based phenomena. Things have changed in the past two decades however and the EU version of State Aid control has assumed the significance of its American counterpart pertaining to antitrust enforcement and merger control. Every year the EU commission reviews thousands of state aid cases each year, as lengthy investigations are undertaken to and many companies have found themselves going bankrupt following large illegal State Aid repayments. Social contributions and tax benefits and subsidies have been recognised as State Aid alike and likely to distort market competition.The EU's basic aim is to achieve a perfect competition like situation with liberalisation and State Aid control.The EU state aid control framework has not spared large financial institutions and multinationals (take the example of high profile disputes like Alstom, France Tlcom, British Energy or WestLB) and this has put these corporate "big fish" much favoured by State Aid previously at their guard from loans and large capital injections,shady compensation for public services, lenient tax measures, and feigned Research and Development measures. 1- introduction ''Effective competition is the best and strongest means to create natural incentives for companies to come up with new ideas and new products.' - Neelie Kroes, EU Competition Commissioner, 2004-2009 It is a trite principle of Economics that State Aid can have detrimental effects on the economy of a country and its trading partners and rivals. It can potentially distort competition and cause wastage of the society's resources by e.g. supporting an outdated industrial structure and delaying a necessary restructuring process in firms. The European Unions efforts to control any measures by its member states to curb competition have made their presence felt for the member states mainly because of the European Unions strict control over competition policy which gives it the power to rule on mergers, takeovers, cartels and the use of state aid. In the recent years the European Union has been able to develop competition regulation into a key area of EU leadership by imposing its rules/policies pertaining to open market competition on member states. Most of these measures have often proved controversial1 as threatening the social market model of its members with its open market policies competition policy dates back to 1957 in the Treaty of Rome wide ranging powers were given to EU authorities to oversee and prevent anti-competitive activities in the firms of its member states. The decades of the nineties saw an increase in the control and activism of the EU in pursuing breaches of competition law, and this contributed to a significant amount of case law as well. Until 2004 these rules were accused of being hot potch and allowing too much interference by the EU authorities in what it deems to be breaches of its Competition regulations.The Treaty of Rome empowers the EU commission2 to investigate the allegations of price fixing, abuse of market position by dominant firms, cartel agreements. Competition policy is run by a part of the EU Commission called the Directorate-General for Competition.3 Along with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the EU commission will Look into potential breaches of competition law Prosecute companies that fail to comply with it. This will be a mixture of active investigation, (inclusive of the EU authorities going to extent of raiding suspicious businesses) The main sanction includes monetary fines for non compliance Recent State Aid figures Table 1: Total state aid by EU member state, 2004 million Euro per capita EU25 = 100 Germany 17,236 155 France 8,915 108 Italy 7,037 90 UK 5,443 68 Spain 3,975 73 Poland 2,873 55 Sweden 2,746 228 Finland 2,293 326 Netherlands 1,814 84 Portugal 1,475 106 Austria 1,427 132 Denmark 1,375 188 Hungary 1,015 74 Belgium 972 70 Ireland 951 180 Greece 473 32 Czech Republic 352 26 Slovenia 250 92 Slovakia 212 29 Cyprus 184 194 Malta 134 248 Lithuania 122 26 Luxembourg 79 146 Latvia 44 14 Estonia 35 18 EU25 61,427 100 This Table shows total expenditure on state aid by member states in 2004 alone. (Source: European Commission, published in the Commission's State Aid Scoreboard The problem of state Aid: definitions and early concepts Of much concern and relevant to the context to my research paper is the power of the EU commission to stop governments of the member states from backing up uncompetitive companies with state aid. State Aid has always had a poor relation in terms of competition law and has gained a lot of significance in EU competition policy over the last few years. The EU competition policy encourages a low level of State Interference and generally disfavours the concept of State Aid .It has been noted that the UK has one of the lowest levels of State Aid yet other member states like France try to defend their right to back of their failing champion industries. Whereas Arts 81 and 82 EC (ex 85 and 86) prohibit undertakings from distorting competition by entering into anti-competitive agreements or abusing a dominant position, Arts 87 and 88 EC (ex 92 and 93) prohibit states from distorting competition by aiding undertakings, unless that aid has been notified to and approved by the European Commission.4 State assistance has been defined as some kind of aid that confers an advantage and confers certain undertakings which have been defined to mean as applying to any entity engaged in an economic activity (whatever its legal status or whether it is making profit).The test will always be whether the organisation has commercial competitors competing against it and whether it is affecting trade between Member States and Distorts or threatens to distort competition. 5 When such a situation occurs Article 87 of the EC Treaty will prohibit any aid granted by a member state or through state resources which may ultimately lead to such distortion of competition. 6 Examples of such aid include state grants interest relief tax relief state guarantee or holding; Provision by the state of goods and services on preferential terms. State Aid itself can be broadly categorized into Sector Aid (which is aimed at supporting recession struck industrial sectors by aiding its reform and investing in it) Regional Aid (aimed at aiding reform of economically underdeveloped regions) Horizontal Aid(involves the heavy of subsidies and Research and Development support to Private firms) If all these kinds of Aid are granted in conformity with all the conditions set out in these regulations then they will not be penalized by the EU commission. States have a choice of notifying any such aid to the Commission which they doubt matches with the legal requirements under EU law. Unless a member state takes this preemptory step it runs the risk of the Commission initiating an investigation on the instigation of a complaint from a third party or another member state. The EU Commission reserves the right to find such Aid incompatible with its policy and can legally force the state to take its Aid back inclusive of interest.7 Exceptions under the EU law However some types of State Aid are allowed. For example under Reg. 68/2001 Training Aid by the State is available to all parts of the Economy (for up to a limit of 1M per enterprise ) and can be as specialized or general as planned. The training can be general or specific and the State is obliged to retain records of this for up to a decade. Another example is the Regulation 70/2001 on aid for small and medium sized enterprises and does not obligate the state to notify the EU commission of it. Then there is the De Minimis Reg. 69/2001 which includes a limit of 100,000 [62,000] over a 3 year period as long as the recipient is not receiving any other de minimis aid in the next three years. Under Regulation 69/2001 aid can be given to enterprises in all economic sectors [except for transport, export activities and the favoring of domestic goods. However in this regard the UK State Aid Policy Unit and the Welsh and Scottish governments have emphasized that they do not favour de minimis aid and will only grant it as a last resort. Consequences of Breach of the EU competition Rules on state aid Article 88 EC Treaty requires the recipient to repay the monies received, plus interest - the claw back provision Competitors can complain and seek damages through the courts If the aid is notified before hand the aggrieved competitors may challenge the Commission's decision to approve the aid - Article 230 Article 226 EC Treaty action for breach of Article 10 EC Treaty - (the good faith clause) Article 88(2) EC Treaty allows for the Commission or Member State to refer a case directly to the ECJ. The Position in the UK Judicial Attitude The EC has showed an increased activism in the area of the application of EC state aid rules to the UK communications and media sectors in the past two decades. Judicial opinion has differed variably into what kinds of State Aid are acceptable to these public concerns.Although the EU Member States have traditionally been reluctant to accept the application of state aid rules to their public enterprises relating to telecommunications and broadcasting ,the last few years have seen an increase in the commercial operators filing an increasing number of complaints to the Commission for distortion in competition. Recent case law has indicated that the Commission has recognized annual payments from state resources as well as exemptions from corporation taxes to be State Aid.In the UK it is said that there have been fewer judicial reviews of State Aid issues based on government decisions than based on decisions by UK competition authorities.This has been attributed to frequent notification to the EU Commission of State Aid Grants,which subject to approval by the European Commission,is barred from challenge in a UK court and can only be challenged at the ECJ level.8 It should also be noted that this prohibition does not apply to state aid between EEA members.9 There has been a considerable amount of case law regarding grant of non-notified and unapproved and approved aid.10 One of the many grounds11 for challenging the alleged grant of state aid is likely to be based on error of law,made in the interpretation of Art.87(1) EC and the Art.88(3) EC, then it is unlawful.12Showing the illegality of the aid is a six fold test under case law 13,where the existence of aid/benefit/ advantage has to be shown14,which should be granted out of state resources15,which will discriminate certain firms over others and give them unfair advantages16,which will which distort or threaten to distort competition17,affecting trade between United Kingdom and at least one other EEA Member State18,a measure not notified to the Commission19. The premise behind establishing the question of whether the Aid is threatening to distort competition and inter-state trade is to use a fact finding process for resolution (i.e. for restitutionary claims) or for disclosure and oral examination of witnesses.20The idea of Aid in EU law stretches beyond the concept of a simple subsidy (like tax advantages)21 In the case of British Aggregates22 parts of the Finance Act 2001 which introduced a levy on aggregate (material used in engineering and building) were challenged as unauthorised state aid. judge held (in light of Art.91 EC) that this did not constitute aid at all and were merely repayment of an internal taxation.Gorvernment actions which indirectly affect the competitive position of businesses and those favoring certain undertakings over others (the selectivity principle) will be deemed to be State The Court of Appeal held in a case that 23 Professional Contractors Group Ltd that a tax measure, known as IR35, which imposed heavier tax burdens on certain independent service companies was not sufficiently selective however. In a Case of the ECJ the Advocate General Geelhoed, stated that: "The notion that a distortion created by an exceptional burden may be viewed as the grant of aid in favour of the economic operators who continue to come within the general rule is in principle incorrect on both legal and economic grounds and on policy grounds."24 In the recent case 25 Sullivan J. expressed his doubts in considering whether leniency in the payment certain charges were a benefit or advantage capable of counting as an aid at all. The State Aid measure should be capable of affecting trade this final hurdle as illustrated by Ex p Getty Trust, where state aid to two British museums to enable them jointly to purchase Canova's "The Three Graces" to stop its sale elsewhere was held not to affect trade.26 In another case aid to a shopping centre development in Londonderry was held not to affect trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. 27A similar decision was taken by the European Court of Justice in GIL Insurance where the court found that the measure in question was not state aid.28.If the Aid is not notified/approved by the Commission the last sentence of Art 88(3)EC stops a Member State from effecting it unless approval is gained so notified aid can be challenged before approval.Once Judicial review is effective in challenging state aid to a competitor the court can by way of remedy the court can grant the appropriate order requiring the aid to be repaid.Infact sometimes restitution may not be an appropriate remedy as ruled by the ECJ in the case of Banks v Coal Authority,29 where the Court of Justice ruled that the proper remedy was an order for repayment of the aid while following the case of R. v Secretary of State for Transport Ex p. Factortame (No.4)30. 6 FOLD CRITERIA FOR DEEMING WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT STATE AID. Is the measure granted by the State or through State resources Does it confer an advantage on the recipient Does it selectively help a certain sector Does it distort competition Does it affect trade between member States The private investor test and its incidences The private investor test will apply to any state measure which will enable aid for a private/public company and will be applied to all types of government tactics like capital injections and loans etc to judge whether a certain aid measure flouts the law.(Also known as the market economy investor test or the informed private investor test.(T-110/97 Kneissl Dachstein Sportartikel AG v Commission [1999] E.C.R. II-2881 Case T-123/97 Salomon v Commission [1999] E.C.R. II-2925, at ). The private investor test does not apply when a government acts in its capacity of public power(where the correct test will be the "selective" or "specific"test. The test will determine whether the state is involved in a market investment which is distorting competition.(See Art.295 EC which allows EU states to invest and partake in commercial operations for a normal market return). However this test has faced much academic and judicial criticism31 because, It is s inadequate or as impracticable due to its limitation inside it as it does not recognise that the state different from any hypothetical private investor. It has a lot of resources at its disposal (and a better credit rating thus) The test forgets that sometimes in large dealings nobody could have really afforded all that investment . This test was developed in the 1980's in order to assess public authorities' holdings in the light of EU state aid law.32 and later on to application of state aid law to public companies in the manufacturing sector. The private investor test is utilised by making a comparison of the conditions at which state funding is made available to a company to the conditions that would have been acceptable to a comparable private investor operating under market conditions at the same time and in comparable circumstancesIf the test is met then the measure is not state aid. A state measure does not contain aid in the sense of Art.87(1) EC if it meets this33.This test is useful in the sense that it operates as a benchmark showing how differently private investors will react to different legal and economic circumstances and the type and context of the investment.(ie whether the investment was short or long-term or whether it was a case of a minority/majority shareholding which was affecting the investment decisions. Also what matters is whether there were new investments and increases in existing investments. (also called the "owner-effect").34The concept of company law known as a "single economic unit", may lead the EU commission to conclude that the private investor is a part of that group.When applying this test the EU Commission cannot apply the private investor test "ex post"; that is by looking at the facts as they developed after the decision to commit the funds.35Another thing to note here would be the concept of Rescue and restructuring aid which the Government can grant in a situation of acute financial distress where state funding and it has been held to have immense political and social implications, in particular where trade unions and employments are at stake (See the example of British Energy).The Commission in 1994 and 1999 have issued detailed rules on rescue and restructuring aid. (Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines of 1999 (the "1999 Guidelines"). UK state aid: The way ahead It is worth mentioning some of the significant cases and policy initiatives that have affected EU State Aid law in the UK recently, 1. The Commission's State Aid Modernisation Package (2003) introduces a "significant impact test" to allow the Commission to prioritise its enforcement efforts on those cases of state aid that are potentially most distortive of competition; draft implementing regulation and a notice on compound interest; an increase in enforcement resources, in particular DG Competition personnel. 2- The test of LASA and LET.LASA relies upon "limited amount of state aid" and LET system allows the Commission to assess large amounts of aid which are a limited enforcement priority because of the "limited effect on trade" within the Community (LET).Under LASA small amounts of aid could be considered compatible with the common market under Art.87(3)(c) EC where certain conditions are met. LASA test states (i) the aid should be linked to the achievement of important Community objectives, such as promotion of R&D, and promotion of SMEs; (ii) the maximum aid intensity should not exceed a threshold of currently 30 per cent; (iii) the maximum amount of aid to a single company should be limited to 1million within a three year period; (iv) Each Member State would be subject to a maximum of amount of aid that could be granted under the expedited procedure; (v) Certain safeguards would be introduced to ensure that the aid granted under the expedited procedure is not abused. The LET test. Limited effect on trade--LET. This test will involve certain measures which do not have an adverse impact on the community trade and has a four fold criteria. (i) the aid must be linked to expenses directly incurred in carrying out the activities concerned (operating aid); (ii) the aid must not exceed3 million per year and per company; (iii) the aid must be awarded through a scheme that is open to all companies willing to carry out the identified activities, or must be awarded through a tender procedure; and (iv) (iv) transparency must be ensured. Another recent development has been the introduction of more enforcement staff in DG Competition with new units to intensify the enforcement of recovery decisions. This unit will monitor the implementation of existing Commission decisions, will develop the Commission's enforcement rules as well as ensure a consistent enforcement policy of the Commission. Conclusion Recent judicial trends indicate that the courts will play a more active role in the judicial reviews of State Aid matters as they have shown a greater willingness to work with the intricacies of EU state aid law especially under treaty provisions like Art.234 EC.In the light of the statistics and opinions discussed above it would suffice to say that it is about time the EU commission acknowledged that the provision of regional aid is necessary evil and member states need this flexibility to come to terms with their own regional problems through their own mechnisms.It has been seen that funding from national budgets can and should co-exist with the EU Structural Funds. The new EU State Aid rules for 2014 are not yet close but the EU commission should learn from its own shortcomings regarding a fair and effective regional policy to win the ideological battle. EU enlargement has increased the workload on the DG Competition by almost double of what it used to be. The ongoing recessive trends of the economy demand an increased role of the Governments to employment policies and rescue actions.Of particular problem is the business concern of the private investor cases who argue that there actions are reasonable.Last but not the least the political struggle between the attitudes of the EU council and the commission should not damage the investors and business people in its tug of war as this will result in people ceasing to have faith in the system. References 1. The DAC Glossary of Development Terms, http://www.oecd.org/glossary. 2. See COM (2004) 313 final "Proposal for a Regulation on Access to Community External Assistance", enacted by the Council in December 2005, Regulation 2110/2005, [2005] O.J. L344. 3. See Commission's Communication "The Untying at Community Level of Member States' Bilateral Development Aid to Non-Member Countries", SEC (91) 2273 final. 4. Weatherill, Cases and Material on EU Law 7th edn. (2006), at p.340; Barnard, The Substantive Law of the EU: the Four Freedoms (2004), at p.87. 5. Craig and De Burca, EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials 3rd edn. (2003), at p.590. 6. See Arrowsmith, The Law of Public and Utilities Procurement 2nd edn. (2005), at Ch.4. 7. Cassese, International Law (2005), at p.53. 8. Evans, European Community Law of State Aid (1997), at p.3. 9. Hillger, "The Award of a Public Contract as State Aid Within the Meaning of Art.87(1) EC" (2003) 12 P.P.L.R. 109. 10. See Baistrocchi, "Can the Award of a Public Contract Be Deemed to Constitute State Aid" [2003] E.C.L.R. 510; 11. F. Martin and Stehman, "Product Market Integration Versus Regional Cohesion in the Community" (1991) 16 E.L. Rev. 26. 12. Bartosch, "The Relationship Between Public Procurement and State Aid Surveillance--The Toughest Standard Apply" (2002) 39 C.M.L. Rev. 551. 13. See also Pie, "The Impact of EC State Aid Rules on Secondary Policies in Public Procurement" in Secondary Policies in Procurement (Arrowsmith ed., forthcoming), at pp.6 and 26. 14. Dischendorfer and Stempkowski, "The Interplay Between the EC Rules on Public Procurement and State Aid" (2002) 11 P.P.L.R. NA47 at NA50. 15. See Commission Communications COM (2002) 639 final, COM (2005) 133; Council Conclusions May 21, 2003 9575/03 DEVGEN 79 ALIM 11 Annex. 16. See Commission Press Release IP/06/1013, "State aid: Commission prohibits public funding for additional broadband network in Appingedam (Netherlands)", July 19, 2006. Available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.doreference=IP/06/1013&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en 17. . Commission Decision C (2006) 3226 final, July 19, 2006 on the measure C 35/2005 (ex N 59/2005) which the Netherlands are planning to implement concerning broadband infrastructure in Appingedam. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state aid/decisions/c35 2005/en.pdf 18. . Commission Letter of February 22, 2006 to Ireland, C (2006) 433 final, "State Aid n N 131/2005--United Kingdom FibreSpeed Broadband Project Wales". Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/community law/state aids/comp-2005/n131-05.pdf 19. Commission Press Release IP/06/214, "State aid: Commission endorses aid to promote fast Internet access for business parks in Wales", February 23, 2006. 20. Eu State Aid Rules: How the European Union is setting the framework for member states' own regional policies, Steve Fothergill,Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research,Sheffield Hallam University, UK,Paper prepared for the RSA conference, Leuven, June 2006 21. De la Mare, "EC State Aid Rules: Why Should Public Lawyers Care" [2000] J.R. 100. 22. ns, EC Law OF State Aid (Clarendon Press, 1997); 23. D'Sa, European COMMUNITY Law ON State Aid (Sweet & Maxwell, 1998); Hancher, Ottervanger and Slot, EC State Aids, 3rd edn (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2006); 24. Quigley and Collins, EC State Aid Law AND POLICY (Hart, 2002). See also Vaughan and Robertson, Law OF THE European Union (OUP, 2007, forthcoming), Vol.6. 25. Bacon, "State Aids and General Measures" (1997) 17 Y.E.L. 269. RESEARCH TRIAL 1. The DAC Glossary of Development Terms, http://www.oecd.org/glossary. AVAILABLE THROUGH GOOGLE/ACCESSED TO FIND A DEFINITION OF STATE AID AND FOR THE GENERAL CONCEPT. 2. See COM (2004) 313 final "Proposal for a Regulation on Access to Community External Assistance", enacted by the Council in December 2005, Regulation 2110/2005, [2005] O.J. L344.ACCESSED THROUGH ATHENS WESTLAW FOR GENERAL READING 3. See Commission's Communication "The Untying at Community Level of Member States' Bilateral Development Aid to Non-Member Countries", SEC (91) 2273 final.WESTLAW. 4. Weatherill, Cases and Material on EU Law 7th edn. (2006), at p.340; 5. Craig and De Burca, EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials 3rd edn. (2003), at p.590. BOOKS 6. See Arrowsmith, The Law of Public and Utilities Procurement 2nd edn. (2005), at Ch.4. WESTLAW PUBLICATION REVIEW- 7. Cassese, International Law (2005), at p.53.BOOK 8. Evans, European Community Law of State Aid (1997), at p.3. WESTLAW 9. Hillger, "The Award of a Public Contract as State Aid Within the Meaning of Art.87(1) EC" (2003) 12 P.P.L.R. 109. WESTLAW 10. See Baistrocchi, "Can the Award of a Public Contract Be Deemed to Constitute State Aid" [2003] E.C.L.R. 510; WESTLAW 11. F. Martin and Stehman, "Product Market Integration Versus Regional Cohesion in the Community" (1991) 16 E.L. Rev. 26. WESTLAW 12. Bartosch, "The Relationship Between Public Procurement and State Aid Surveillance--The Toughest Standard Apply" (2002) 39 C.M.L. Rev. 551. WESTLAW 13. See also Pie, "The Impact of EC State Aid Rules on Secondary Policies in Public Procurement" in Secondary Policies in Procurement (Arrowsmith ed., forthcoming), at pp.6 and 26. 14. Dischendorfer and Stempkowski, "The Interplay Between the EC Rules on Public Procurement and State Aid" (2002) 11 P.P.L.R. NA47 at NA50. WESTLAW 15. See Commission Communications COM (2002) 639 final, COM (2005) 133; Council Conclusions May 21, 2003 9575/03 DEVGEN 79 ALIM 11 Annex. WESTLAW 16. See Commission Press Release IP/06/1013, "State aid: Commission prohibits public funding for additional broadband network in Appingedam (Netherlands)", July 19, 2006. Available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.doreference=IP/06/1013&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en 17. . Commission Decision C (2006) 3226 final, July 19, 2006 on the measure C 35/2005 (ex N 59/2005) which the Netherlands are planning to implement concerning broadband infrastructure in Appingedam. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/state aid/decisions/c35 2005/en.pdf 18. . Commission Letter of February 22, 2006 to Ireland, C (2006) 433 final, "State Aid n N 131/2005--United Kingdom FibreSpeed Broadband Project Wales". Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/community law/state aids/comp-2005/n131-05.pdf 19. Commission Press Release IP/06/214, "State aid: Commission endorses aid to promote fast Internet access for business parks in Wales", February 23, 2006. WESTLAW AND GENERALLY GOOGLE 20. Eu State Aid Rules: How the European Union is setting the framework for member states' own regional policies, Steve Fothergill,Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research,Sheffield Hallam University, UK,Paper prepared for the RSA conference, Leuven, June 2006(AVAILABLE AT GOOGLE/WESTLAW) 21. De la Mare, "EC State Aid Rules: Why Should Public Lawyers Care" [2000] J.R. 100.WESTLAW 22. EC Law OF State Aid (Clarendon Press, 1997); 23. D'Sa, European COMMUNITY Law ON State Aid (Sweet & Maxwell, 1998); 24. Hancher, Ottervanger and Slot, EC State Aids, 3rd edn (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2006); BOOKS 24. Quigley and Collins, EC State Aid Law AND POLICY (Hart, 2002)WESTLAW 25. Bacon, "State Aids and General Measures" (1997) 17 Y.E.L. 269. WESTLAW 26-Barnard, The Substantive Law of the EU: the Four Freedoms (2004), at p.87.BOOKS./ACCESSED FOR STATE AID READING Read More
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