State Aid - A New Horizon, But More Uncertainty
State aid has become one of the tensions in the UK-EU negotiations regarding a new deal.
The current EU State aid rules restrict the ability of a Member State to subsidise their own companies to ensure a level playing field across Europe. As the UK economy recovers from coronavirus (COVID-19), the UK Government has signalled a desire to have greater flexibility to protect jobs and to support new and emerging industries now and into the future.
At the end of last week the Business Secretary announced that the UK would cease to apply the EU State aid rules and adopt the lighter touch WTO regime from the beginning of next year. The Government signalled its intention to design its own subsidy control regime and will be publishing a consultation later this year.
You can read the UK Government's press release on its planned approach to subsidy control here.
What this means for businesses currently relying upon EU State aid block exemptions is not yet clear, but we will update you as further information becomes available.
