ABSTRACT
The Commission has launched a process of modernisation in order to improve efficiency, reinforce control and simplify procedures for less significant cases. As we have noted above, a number of Regulations, Notices and Decisions have already been put in place. There is a discernable trend towards greater decentralisation in the application of the rules, and an approach based more clearly on economic justification. The Commission’s developing policy is that aid should be oriented towards horizontal goals where there exists a gain for the common interest. Welfare gains include regional development, environmental protection, research and development (R & D), innovation, employment, etc. Accordingly, the Commission introduced a Regulation to enable it to adopt group exemptions for certain categories of horizontal aid.114 This Regulation defines the criteria under which certain horizontal aid, such as for research and development, may be exempted from the notification obligation. The Commission has used its powers under the enabling Regulation to introduce State aid block exemption Regulations in relation to small-and medium-sized enterprises, de minimis aid, training aid and employment aid on the basis that aid for horizontal objectives, such as R & D, environmental protection, and promotion of small-and medium-sized enterprises, contributes to overall Community objectives. Accordingly, the exemption of certain categories of aid from notification requirements is intended to allow the Commission to concentrate its resources on ad hoc schemes to assist particular companies. Overall, the Commission has indicated a shift away from supporting aid to individual companies or sectors, toward tackling horizontal objectives of Community interest. The key trends in the jurisprudence also demonstrate a tightening in the State aid rules: selectivity has been more difficult to disprove and advantage has been construed widely. For instance, the English Court of Appeal rejected the argument that a State aid can be objectively justified and therefore not prohibited by Art 87(1).115 In addition, the interrelationship between the State aid regime and national tax systems is problematic and there are likely to be more confrontations between Member States and the Commission on this issue, partly as it has been argued that the Commission has indirectly sought harmonisation of European tax regimes via the application of the State aid provisions.116 An important future trend may be the increased role of the national courts as part of the general process of decentralisation of the Community workload, although the national courts’ role is limited and will be fraught with difficulties.117 One area of difficulty for national courts has been avoided by the Court’s determination that State labour law regimes, which inevitably impact on the competitiveness of undertakings, are not covered by the State aid rules.118
