ABSTRACT
European Court (EC) competition law is often seen as a nexus between Brussels bureaucracy and industry. Articles 85 and 86, the principal instruments of competition policy enforcement, apply to undertakings. The focus of this article is, however, on the duties that each Member State has under the competition rules. Alongside the Commission, the European Court of Justice has assisted in the development, of new instruments by which the Community authorities, can tackle head-on the impediments to competition and market integration that state intervention in the market-place. A breach of Article 90 only occurs where there is a breach of another relevant provision of Treaty rules and there is a causal link to a Member State. Article 104 allows Member States to pursue economic policies needed to ensure balance of payments equilibrium and confidence in its currency. A further question must be whether Member States can confer privileged status in a manner which avoids the breaches of Treaty rules.
