State Aid in the European Union in the Context of the Contemporary Economic Crisis

The contemporary economic crisis has determined a massive public intervention of the member-states of the European Union in the economy, with the hope that such a measure will correct the negative economic and social impact. Such state aid has been directed mainly to the financial and banking sector. The general logic of state aid in the Common Market, which attempts to prevent the anti-competitive effects of public intervention, has been exposed to big pressures. This paper attempts to scrutinize the mediate, less manifest, impact of the operation of the state aid control as well as the anti-competitive effects of the measures of public assistance of the economic agents. The European policy in the field of state aid is in the danger of losing its fundamental legitimacy as well as inducing certain member states incentives to undergo unsustainable levels of public spending.