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ARTICLE · 03 MAY 2011

Commissioner Almunia Seeks To Streamline State Aid Rules

SJ Berwin LLP
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According to EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, the EU state aid rules need to be streamlined and clarified in order that they can be applied in a systematic way.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
SJ Berwin'S EU & Competition Team
SJ Berwin'S EU & Competition Team

According to EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, the EU state aid rules need to be streamlined and clarified in order that they can be applied in a systematic way.  He further states that DG Competition's limited resources need to be concentrated on the aid that most hinders the functioning of the internal market, rather than a mass of 'low-level' cases.

In a recent speech, Commissioner Almunia highlights that the deepening of the internal market is one of the Commission's cornerstones.  He emphasised that the internal market relies on both (i) regulation, to induce Member States to lower their boundaries in order to develop a single market, and (ii) state aid control, to ensure that Member States do not distort the functioning of the single market by favouring some actors to the detriment of others.

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