European Commission Aims To Modernise State Aid Control

On 8 May 2012, the European Commission announced the objectives of a reform of EU state aid control, which it aims to have in place by the end of 2013. The reform is part of the EU's wider agenda of fostering growth and creating appropriate conditions for economic recovery to take off and endure. The European Commission notes that the complexity of the current rules as well as of the current procedural framework for state aid are challenges to state aid control. The reform has three main objectives:

to foster sustainable, smart and inclusive growth; to focus European Commission scrutiny on cases with the biggest impact on the internal market; and to streamline the rules and provide for faster decisions. The European Commission wants to ensure that the main elements of this reform enter into force at the same time. This will involve proposals for new legislation being adopted in autumn 2012 and the main instruments of the package being adopted by the end of 2013. Fostering growth The European Commission states that...