State Aid and the European Economic Constitution

Recent years have seen the rise of EU State aid law as a crucial component of the European economic constitution. To date, however, the literature has neglected the contribution of this area of EU law to the internal market. This book seeks to fill this gap in our understanding of the economic constitution by exploring the significance of State aid law in addressing questions that go to the core of the internal market project. It does so by examining the case law relating to three different activities that Member States engage in: market participation, market regulation, and funding for Services of General Economic Interest. Each of these areas offers insights into fundamental questions surrounding the economic constitution, such as the separation between the State and the market, the scope for Member States to engage in regulatory competition, and the tension between market and nonmarket concerns.

Autorentext

Francesco de Cecco is a Lecturer in Law at Newcastle University.

Inhalt

1. Introduction

PART I

2. The Constitutional Framework
3. The Concept of a European Economic Constitution
   A. Ordo-liberalism and the European Economic Constitution
   B. The Continuing Relevance of the Concept of Economic Constitution
4. The Economic Orientation of the Internal Market Case Law
   A. The Role of Economic Liberalism
   B. The Balance between Internal Market and Social Rights
5. The Limits of Constitutional Adjudication
   A. National Identity and the Social Market Economy in the Court
   B. Varieties of Capitalism and Market Integration

6. Conclusion

7. The Distinctive Nature of State Aid Law
8. Family Resemblances
   A. State Aid and Antitrust
   B. State Aid and Free Movement
   C. Competition Between States
9. Centralisation and its Rationale
   A. Direct Effect, Centralised and Decentralised Enforcement
   B. Administrative Rule-Making
10. Discretion
    A. Economic and Non-Economic Considerations
    B. Discretion and the European Interest
11. Conclusion

PART II

4. The State as Market Participant
5. State Attribution
6. The Market Operator Principle and its Ramifications
   A. Questioning the Market Operator Principle
   B. From Neutrality to Substantive Equality
   C. The Limits of the Market Paradigm
   D. Legal Certainty

7. Conclusion

8. The State as Regulator
9. The Market Participant-Regulator Boundary
10. Selectivity
    A. Competitors and Comparators
    B. The Relevance of Objectives
    C. Regulatory Justifications for Unequal Treatment
    D. Towards a 'Rule of Reason' in State Aid Law?
11. The Use of Public Resources
12. Conclusion

PART III

6. State Aid and Self-Government
7. The Geographic Dimension of Selectivity
   A. The Relevant Economic Space
   B. The Constitutional Dimension
8. The Shifting Scope of Tax Competition

9. Conclusion

10. Funding Public Services
11. Services of General Economic Interest
12. Compensation for Public Service Obligations
    A. The 'State Aid' and 'Compensation' Approaches
    B. Altmark and Beyond
    C. A Retreat from Altmark?
    D. The Commission Packages
13. Defining SGEIs
    A. State Aid and the Constitutional Relevance of Solidarity
    B. Evaluating Compensation
14. Beyond the Market Participant-Regulator Dichotomy

15. Conclusion

16. Conclusion