The notion of competition policy control of State aids as a component of EU cohesion policy has become a standard part of European Commission rhetoric, but a new publication from EPRC asks whether the control of regional State aid under the competition policy provisions of the EU Treaty has become more about making regional policy than about preventing distortions of competition.
The book - "Regional State Aid and Competition Policy in the European Union" by Fiona Wishlade - provides a comprehensive historical overview of the development of policy as well as reviewing key themes such as the relationship between EU competition policy and the Structural Funds, the control of investment aid to large projects under the Multisectoral Frameworks and the potential effect of EU enlargement on regional State aid control.
Publication of the book is timely: in April 2003 the European Commission announced its intention "to conduct a thorough review of its rules on regional aid for the period after 1 January 2007" and stated that the current rules would remain in force until then; this book both assesses the impact of the current rules and discusses the key issues to be taken into account in any future policy reform.
Fiona G. Wishlade (2003) "Regional State Aid and Competition Policy in the European Union", European Monographs, No. 43 (Kluwer Law International, The Hague) pp 290. ISBN 90-411-1975-2.