Regional state aid and competition policy in the European Union

Abstract:

This work looks at the interaction of two European Union policies and how they contribute or otherwise to economic and social cohesion in the EU.

The book is organised over nine chapters. The first chapter outlines the foundations for European competition policy control of the regional aid policies of Member States. The next three chapters trace the evolution of Community policy on regional aid control from its beginning to the present. Chapter five examines Commission policy in relation to the distortions arising from aid to very large and/or capital intensive projects. The nascent Community regional policy is explored in chapter six with specific attention to its relationship with Community competition policy. The impact of the competition policy provisions on the regional aid policies of Member States is evaluated in chapter seven. The future of regional aid control, particularly in the context of enlargement, is considered in chapter eight. The elements of policy development discussed in earlier chapters are drawn together in the concluding chapter which offers some signposts as to the way ahead for regional aid control.
The book will interest scholars, students, policy makers and practitioners engaged in the fields of economic development, regional policy and state aid law at European, national and subnational levels.

Fiona Wishlade is Associate Director of the European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.