European Competition Law provides a wide-ranging review of the European rules relating to competition: restrictive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, impact of intellectual property rights, procedure, merger control, State aid.

European Competition Law

Regulation No 651/2014 covers 13 categories of aid in all. Almost all economic sectors are concerned . Regulation No 651/2014 is central to the policy of the modernization of State aid whose aim is to boost sustainable economic growth and ensure a more efficient use of public finances. With that objective in mind, the scope of the exemption includes new categories of aid such as aid to make good t …

Scope of application

Regulation No 651/2014 covers 13 categories of aid in all. Almost all economic sectors are concerned . Regulation No 651/2014 is central to the policy of the modernization of State aid whose aim is to boost sustainable economic growth and ensure a more efficient use of public finances. With that objective in mind, the scope of the exemption includes new categories of aid such as aid to make good the damage caused by certain natural disasters, social aid for transport for residents of remote regions , aid for broadband infrastructures , aid for innovation, aid for culture and heritage conservation, aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures . Other than those cited above, the regulation also applies to  regional aid, aid to SMEs in the form of investment aid, operating aid and SMEs' access to finance, aid for environmental protection, aid for research, development and innovation, training aid, aid for disadvantaged or disabled workers and aid for local infrastructures.

By contrast, aid to export-related activities, aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods, regional aid favoring determined sectors of economic activity in production or services, ad hoc aid to larger undertakings, aid to undertakings in difficulty etc . are excluded from the scope of application of the regulation.

In the sector of fisheries and aquaculture, the Regulation only applies to aid in the fields of research and development and innovation, aid in the form of risk capital, training aid and aid for disadvantaged and disabled workers. In the agricultural sector, in view of the special rules which apply in the primary product of agricultural products, the Regulation concerns only aid in the fields of research and development, aid in the form of risk capital, training aid, environmental aid and aid for the disadvantaged and disabled workers to the extent that these categories of aid are not covered by Commission Regulation No 1857/2006 of 15 December 2006. Lastly, the Regulation does not apply to aid to the coal industry, with the exception of training aid, research and development and innovation aid and environmental aid.

Remote regions are, according to Article 2, outermost regions, Malta, Cyprus, Ceuta and Melilla, other islands which are part of the territory of a Member State and sparsely populated areas. The aid concerns air and maritime passenger transport and must be for the benefit of final consumers who have their normal residence in remote regions. It is granted for passenger transport on a route linking an airport or port in a remote region with another airport or port within the European Economic Area without discrimination as to the identity of the carrier or type of service and without limitation as to the precise route to or from the remote region. The aid intensity shall not exceed 100% of the eligible cost, i.e. the price of a return ticket from or to the remote region, including all taxes and charges invoiced by the carrier to the consumer.

Broadband connectivity is of utmost importance for the achievement of the objective of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and innovation pursued by the EU. Investment aid for broadband infrastructure aims at fostering the deployment of such infrastructure and related civil engineering works in areas where no comparable infrastructure exists nor is likely to be deployed by market operators in the near future. Aid is granted by means of a clear, transparent and non-discriminatory bidding process. The wholesale access price is based on the pricing principles set by the national regulatory authority and on benchmarks that prevail in other comparable, more competitive areas of the Member State or the Union taking into account the aid received by the network operator (Reg. 651/2014, Art. 52)

The Commission considers that in the sport sector a number of measures taken by Member States may not constitute State aid because the beneficiary does not carry out an economic activity or because there is no effect on trade between Member States. This is the case for aid measures which have a purely local character or which are taken in the field of amateur sport. Aid to infrastructures which serve more than one purpose of recreation and are thus multifunctional are also be covered by the block exemption. An exemption can also be granted However, aid to multifunctional tourism infrastructures such as leisure parks and hotel facilities should only be exempted if it is part of a regional aid scheme aimed at tourism activities in an assisted region. Article 55 provides that sport infrastructure must not be used exclusively by a single professional sport user. Use of the sport infrastructure by other professional or non-professional sport users must annually account for at least 20% of time capacity. Access to the sport or multifunctional recreational infrastructures must be open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. The aid may take the form of investment aid or operating aid.  For investment aid, the aid amount must not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating profit of the investment and for operating aid, the amount must not exceed the operating losses over the relevant period.

Case C-245/16 Nerea SpA, Judgment of 6 July 2017, LawLex201700001184JBJ: the concept of "collective insolvency proceedings" referred to in the general block exemption regulation covers all collective insolvency proceedings for undertakings provided for by national law, whether they are opened by the national administrative or judicial authorities of their own motion or on the initiative of the undertaking concerned.

European Competition Law

401. Scope of application

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

401. Scope of application

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise