Main developments in State aid control 2021–2022

Abstract

The last two years of State aid policy and enforcement have been marked by two unprecedented back-to-back crises, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The Commission acted swiftly to mitigate their effects, by establishing specific sets of rules setting out the criteria for its assessment of national support measures. That enabled Member States to rely on the flexibility of State aid rules to weather those crises. On that basis, the Commission developed a rich and prolific decisional practice. During this period, the Commission also accelerated the review of several State aid guidelines as well as of the General Block Exemption Regulation, with a view to ensuring that those instruments are fit-for-purpose and aligned with its Green Deal and Digital Strategy objectives. That alignment is also evidenced in several Commission decisions. This article also discusses the main judicial developments in 2021–2022, notably on COVID-19-related measures in the area of aviation, on State aid and taxation and on a number of procedural and substantive issues.