EU Strategic Autonomy and State Aid Control. Case-study on the Important Projects of Common European Interest

Papp, Mónika and Szalay, Róbert (2023) EU Strategic Autonomy and State Aid Control. Case-study on the Important Projects of Common European Interest. In: Horizons of Law in Business and Finance. ADJURIS International Academic Publisher, Bucharest, pp. 132-141. ISBN 978-606-95862-2-8

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Abstract

From the mid-2010s, strategic autonomy appeared in the political and economic narrative of several EU policies. EU industrial policy is also linked to the capacity of the EU to improve its competitiveness, invest in human capital, and R&D, and address market failures. On the other hand, EU State aid rules have often been perceived as too stringent on Member States' competence to support national industries. The changing geopolitical and economic environment and later the COVID-19 triggered a more assertive EU to defend its market against third-country competitors and to tackle the vulnerability of sectors dependent on supply chains. Consequentially, the implementation of projects of common European interest has been accelerated. The paper investigates 107(3) TFEU as a broad mandate to contribute to the strategic autonomy of the EU, which will reveal that the category of important projects of common European interest (IPCEI) is a tool to authorise pan-European R&D and industrial projects. These projects were steered by the Commission and the Member States together to achieve EU objectives, as set out in various EU policy documents (e.g. European Green Deal). We have applied desk research by analysing the relevant policy documents and Commission decisions to conduct our research. IPCEI, as a broad undefined TFEU exception, is, in our view, apt to accommodate diverse EU policy goals.

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