Enterprises support policies and recent legislative trends between industrial policy planning and compatibility criteria (banks, IPCEI, economic development, technological innovation, research)

Abstract

This essay examines the evolution of EU State aid law in light of the transformations triggered by recent financial, economic, health, energy and geopolitical crises. Starting from the renewed recognition of public intervention in the economy, the paper argues that State aid has gradually moved beyond its traditional role as an exceptional and corrective instrument, becoming instead a structural component of industrial policy and multilevel economic planning. It is highlighted the evolving interpretation of Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, especially the concept of a “serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State” and the legal framework governing Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs), both of which have significantly expanded the scope for compatible public intervention. The essay traces the transition from a model centred on the opposition between competition protection and State intervention to one based on cooperation between the European Commission and the Member States in pursuing shared strategic objectives, including economic resilience, strategic autonomy, the green and digital transitions, technological innovation and the security of European value chains. So, the paper analyses the Commission’s most recent policy framework concerning State aid for research, development and innovation, climate, energy and clean industry, highlighting the persistent need to reconcile industrial competitiveness with the preservation of effective competition and the integrity of the internal market. The final remarks allow us to note that the derogating provisions do not abdicate the role of State aid which, although they may be in an expansionary phase, cannot be considered detached from the regulatory context which subjects domestic measures to careful and scrupulous scrutiny.