Afternoon Seminar on State Aids

Conferences on State Aid usually focus on the legal position of the beneficiary of these aid and less on the other side, i.e. the authority that provides the aid. For governments that want to grant aid, the modernization of the State aid regime and related developments, such as the Second Altmark -package, have changed the framework in which they have to operate. On the one hand, less aid must be notified – which is not always an advantage since this diminishes the legal certainty on the compatibility of aid. On the other hand, the obligations relating to due diligence before awarding aid and to monitoring aid as well as to the assessment and reporting after granting aid are significantly increased. Consequently, we think it is time to place the legal position of the aid granting public authority in the spotlight.

In the relationship between the European Commission, the authority that provides the aid and the beneficiary of the aid, the interests of the authority that provides the aid may be identical to those of the Commission and the beneficiary, but certainly not completely. Therefore, several questions arise :

– How much research should a government effectuate before granting de minimis aid? Is a sworn declaration by the recipient sufficient, or is more needed and if so how much more?

– If regions distribute funds to municipalities which provide aid with these funds, what are the obligations of these regions to verify the final purpose and recipient of the funds?

– How to optimize the dialogue between governments and the Commission if the General Block Exemption does not provide clarity?

– What are the rights and obligations of governments when the Commission orders recovery?

In this context, a panel of practitioners, academics and EU officials will highlight, in a round table format, several best practices for authorities that provide aids.

*

The main working language of the seminar is Flemish. Please, consult the programme here below for more information.

Conference programme (EN)

Conference programme (NL)

Conference programme (FR)