Pravni Zapisi (Jan 2017)
State aid regime in the Republic of Serbia
Abstract
By analyzing normative regulations of state aid in RS, it concludes that the regulation of this issue is one of the obligations to be fulfilled in the process of EU integration, and that the regulations were passed without expert public debate. The Law on state aid control has a lot of shortcomings and negligence. State aid control should imply control of its allocation, proper consumption, that is, its purpose or lawful spending of public funds. This Act only controls whether this aid may affect unauthorized on market relations. Then, the law only controls certain areas, while others are completely excluded (agriculture and fisheries). According to the Stabilization and Association Agreement, the Republic of Serbia is not obliged to control State aid in the field of agriculture and fisheries, or possibly uncontrolled state aid in these areas is not a breach of the SAA. The state aid control is limited by the amount or mode of assignment. There is some ambiguity in terms of state aid that is realized through the reduction of income or the creation of expenditures of public enterprises. Indirectly, such benefits can be considered as state aid, as they result in a reduction in public revenues. The State Aid Control Commission is an organization which legal nature is not fully defined. It is a combination of the working body of the government, the governing organization and the independent regulatory body. Thus, state aid control remains within the RS Government, and it is a fulfilled obligation of the SAA. The European Commission expects from the Republic of Serbia to make 'additional efforts' in the medium term, to harmonize the EU legal instruments in the areas of state aid, as well as to implement them effectively.
