State aid rules in the financial sector during the economic crisis: a disguised but yet necessary retreat or an honest compromise? The case of Greece

The present study refers to the issue of interpretation as well as implementation of EU state aid rules in the financial sector, given the recent, ongoing and still evolving economic and financial crisis and the extraordinary conditions it entailed for the EU Member States, with an emphasis in the case of Greece, which was intensely affected by such crisis.

The study focuses on the general legal and regulatory framework as concerns state aid law within the context of the financial system, analyses the respective historic and factual background and, afterwards, deals with the specific case of Greece and its complex particularities, presenting a brief synopsis and commentary of the most important measures implemented, in order to conclude whether a disguised but necessary retreat or an honest compromise has taken place with regard to the applicable state aid rules.