The Concept of State Aid Under EU Law: From internal market to competition and beyond(Oxford Studies in European Law)

How has the evolution and transformation of the Common Market affected the legal concept of State aid? How has State aid adapted to the development of the European Union? These questions and more are answered in Juan Jorge Piernas López's examination of the historical, political, constitutional, and economical events that have affected the development of State aid in the EU. Examining three key, interwoven arguments, this book provides a richer understanding of current formulas which depict the concept of aid through the prism of policy and enforcement considerations. First, the book demonstrates that the concept of aid is a 'living instrument' that has been applied in accordance with the main policy priorities of the European Commission. Second, contrary to what has been affirmed in other literature, the evolution of this concept has been influenced by the broader advancement of the case law of the Court of Justice in different periods of the integration process. Third, the author contends that the study of the evolution of the concept of aid in light of policy and case law provides a holistic outlook valuable to the decision making process of difficult cases. In this regard, the book provides criteria to interpret and discuss cases including Sloman Neptun, Philip Morris, and Azores, beyond the analysis traditionally adopted in this field.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction 2: Origins of Subsidy Control 3: The Evolution of European State Aid Policy 4: The Notion of Advantage 5: The Notion of Selectivity 6: The Notion of Aid Granted by the State or Through State Resources 7: The Notion of Distortion of Competition and Effect on Trade 8: Case Study: State Aid for Banks During the Financial Crisis 9: The Concept of Aid Under EU Law: From Internal Market to Competition and Beyond Conclusion

About the Author :
Juan Jorge Piernas López is a Doctor of Laws from the European University Institute in Florence (2013). He formerly graduated from Harvard University (LL.M., Harvard Law School 2007), the College of Europe (Master in Advanced European Studies, Natolin, Poland 2005) and the University of Murcia (Law degree, Spain, 2003). Juan Jorge is currently assistant professor of European Union and International law at the University of Murcia and consultant to the World Bank in State aid matters. He previously worked for the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, focussing on European Union and Spanish Competition, Trade, and State Aid Law matters (Brussels, 2007-2009), and the European Commission (Stagiare at the Legal Service in 2005 and temporal agent at DG Competition in 2006). Juan Jorge Piernas López has published extensively on International and European Union Law.

Review :
Piernas' recurring argument is that by focusing on the position of the Commission and developments in state aid policy, it is possible to provide a better understanding of the development of the case law. If only because of the novelty of this effort, the work is certainly a major and remarkable contribution to the field of state aid law. State aid law has not yet been approached on this basis and the coherent and consistent discussion of case law is in itself likely to set the book up as one of the important referential works for some time to come... Piernas has produced an important piece of scholarship with a clear added value. It will be a lasting reference in the field both from a substantive and a methodological perspective. The author displays a very sophisticated understanding of the field and of the factors at play in the decision-making process. More importantly, he has found an elegant and effective way to introduce these factors in the analysis.