State Aid to the EU Economy before and after the Pandemic

Abstract

The article gives an idea about the volume of companies subsidizing in the EU. The characteristics of the last decade are revealed: stable growth, which led to a doubling of government aid spending, then a huge surge at the end of the period under review due to the COVID-19 crisis. The types of assistance are described, as well as the conditions under which it can be provided from state budgets according to the Temporary Anti-Crisis Program of the EU, put into effect in March 2022 in connection with Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine and allowing additional state subsidies. Significant differences between EU countries in the level of state support of the national economy are shown. It shows also the active use of state support as a tool for influencing the economy by large European countries: Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, as well as a noticeable increase in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Against this background, the forecast of further deepening of cross-country imbalances in the EU is given. The modern role of the European Commission in the control of state support is revealed: once the guardian of fair competition, which does not recognize state interference in market relations, and now the conductor of state subsidies to the economy, distorting the normal course of competition.

Keywords

• state aid to the economy
• state support
• temporary anti-crisis program of state aid
• special military operation of russia in ukraine
• covid-19
• european commission
• european union