Initiating formal investigations in the state aid regime

Enforcing state aid rules in the EU: between law and politics. Radboud University Abstract article: This study maps the characteristics of the state aid measures for which the Commission initiated a formal investigation between 2004 and 2018 and assesses the consequences of the state aid reforms for these characteristics. The analysis shows that the reform of the Procedural Regulation in 2013 led to a decrease in the number of formal investigations initiated as a result of a formal complaint.

Although this development is in line with expectations on the basis of the contents of this reform, this is not accompanied by an increase in the number of formal investigations initiated as a result of the Commission’s own investigations. Such an increase would have been expected on the basis of the 2013 reform, because of the Commission’s larger competences and increased capacity available for these investigations.