Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

The State aid provisions of the Act are set out in Chapter 6, pursuant to which State aid is considered as any financial advantage granted by State, city or rural Government that threatens or actually distorts competition. Under Section 54 of the Competition Act, the Competition Authority has no jurisdiction to exercise State and administrative supervision over Chapter 6. …

Context

The State aid provisions of the Act are set out in Chapter 6, pursuant to which State aid is considered as any financial advantage granted by State, city or rural Government that threatens or actually distorts competition. Under Section 54 of the Competition Act, the Competition Authority has no jurisdiction to exercise State and administrative supervision over Chapter 6.

Pursuant to Section 30 of the Act, State aid may only be granted for the elimination of market failures during a specified term and to the extent necessary to achieve the objective specified in Article 107(2) and (3) TFEU. State aid must have an incentive effect. Pursuant to Section 30 (3) of the Act, Aid is not regulated by the provisions of the Act in specific sectors: the transport sector; aid related to the production, processing or marketing of agricultural products or forestry, or of fishery products.

Under Section 31, an undertaking providing services of general interest is an undertaking to which the state or a local government has assigned the duty to provide a service of general interest which is not available on the market and the provision of which the State or the local government considers necessary. Services of public interest shall be defined and the duty to provide such services shall be established by legislation or a contract.

Pursuant to Section 33 of the Act, de minimis aid is deemed to be the aid specified in Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid and Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 360/2012 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid granted to undertakings providing services of general economic interest. De minimis aid is not subject to the notification requirement laid down in Section 341 of the Act. However, it must be granted pursuant to the procedure provided for in Commission Regulations Nos 1407/2013 and 360/2012.

Scope

The grantor of State aid submits the notice on State aid complying with the Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 with all necessary information in writing and by electronic means through the web application prescribed by the European Commission to the Ministry of Finance for review. If the notice on State aid complies with the requirements, the grantor of State aid must forward this together with all necessary information through the web-application prescribed by the European Commission to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Estonia to the European Union, which forwards it to the European Commission. If the grantor of State aid fails to submit the required information in the notice on State aid, the notice does not comply with the requirements or there are deficiencies in the notice or information submitted together with it, the Ministry of Finance has the right to request the submission of additional information from the grantor of State aid or to make a proposal to supplement the notice within 10 working days as of the receipt of the notice. The grantor of State aid submits the additional information requested by the European Commission in the course of processing the notice on State aid by electronic means via the Ministry of Finance to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Estonia to the European Union, which forwards it to the European Commission.

  State aid covered by block (group) exemption is deemed to be the aid specified in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 on the Implementation of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU to certain categories of horizontal State aid, with regard to which the European Commission has adopted the corresponding block exemption regulation. It is not necessary to submit the notice on State aid specified in Section 341 to the European Commission, in order to grant State aid covered by block exemption. Upon the grant of State aid covered by block exemption, the grantor of State aid must submit, not later than 10 working days before granting the individual State aid or implementation of the aid scheme, a summary information sheet concerning the grant of State aid covered by block exemption complying with the requirements set by the European Commission in writing and by electronic means through the web-application prescribed by the European Commission to the Ministry of Finance for review. The legislation or the draft legislation on the basis of which individual State aid is granted or an aid scheme is implemented and, if necessary, description of the aid proving the compliance of the planned State aid with the conditions laid down in the relevant group exemption regulation of the European Commission is submitted to the Ministry of Finance together with the notice on block exemption. If the notice on block exemption complies with the requirements, the grantor of State aid forwards it to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Estonia to the European Union, which forwards it to the European Commission.

  Section 42 of the Act provides for the recovery of incompatible aid. If the European Commission or the European Court of Justice has forwarded a decision to the Republic of Estonia concernif the recovery of unlawful or misused State aid from the recipient of State aid, this decision shall be forwarded to the grantor of unlawful State aid or misused State aid. The grantor of State aid is required to demand recovery of the State aid with interest pursuant to the decision of the European Commission or the European Court of Justice.

  If the grantor of state aid itself has etablished that state aid granted is unlawful or misused, the grantor of state aid shall demand recovery of state aif from the recipient of state aid on its own initiative with interest, which is calculated from the payment of state aid. The recipient of state aid have to repay the state aid immediately but not later than four months after receipt of the claim for recovery of state aid. The claim for recovery is an enforcement instrument. 

However, the grantor of state aid shall not be required to demand recovry of state aid if the European Commission has declared ex post facto with its corresponding decision that unlawfully grandted state aid is compatible with the internal market. 

  The Ministry of Finance provides assistance, if necessary, to the European Commission as regards supervision over the State aid and on-site inspections (Section 491).

Global Competition Law

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Les notions juridiques connexes

209. Context

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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