20 November 2020
Michael Gasiorek is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and Director of the UKTPO.
Discussions and evaluations on the future UK-EU relationship have been on-going since the referendum of June 2016, and we are close to another milestone – by the end of the year, we will either have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU or no-deal. Note this is a milestone and not the endgame. Whether or not there is an agreement there will still be considerable practicalities to resolve, and no doubt some areas will be open to future negotiation. There is a lot of talk in the press about sticking points (fisheries, state aid and level playing field provisions, dispute settlement) but how good the deal is for the UK will depend on the scope and the depth of what is agreed, and whether some areas are only notionally covered and need to be sorted out in future negotiations. (more…)
George Meredith November 20th, 2020
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: digital trade, Rules of Origin, State aid, tariffs, trade negotiations
29 June 2020
Erika Szyszczak is Professor Emerita and a Fellow of the UKTPO, University of Sussex.
In response to the global economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the European Commission has launched a major review of EU trade policy. The first act was to launch an inclusive online public consultation on a number of themes:
George Meredith June 29th, 2020
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: level playing field, State aid
8 June 2020
Professor Erika Szyszczak is Professor Emerita and a Fellow of UKTPO, University of Sussex.
Control over state aid is a stumbling block for the future of a EU-UK trade agreement. The EU is seeking dynamic alignment of any future UK state aid rules. This is a bold demand, especially since the EU state aid rules will be in a state of flux in the forthcoming years. But if no agreement is reached there are implications for domestic UK policy. (more…)
George Meredith June 9th, 2020
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: State aid
30 March 2020
Guest Blog by Ian Clarke, CEO of Excalibur Global Managed Services Ltd.
Following on from the previous blog by Erika Szyszczak on the new temporary adaptation of EU state aid rules in the light of the COVID-19 economic crisis, this blog discusses why the UK should take a cautionary approach to special aid being directed to the aviation sector. (more…)
George Meredith March 30th, 2020
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: aviation, coronavirus, covid-19, State aid
27 March 2020
Erika Szyszczak is Professor Emerita at Sussex Law School and a Fellow of UKTPO.
Recent weeks have seen the rapid implementation of measures to manage and maintain EU state aid policy during the COVID-19 crisis. Some Member States, including the UK, have adopted urgent measures to ameliorate damage to their economies. During the transitional period of the Withdrawal Agreement the UK must follow EU law and therefore the responses by the UK Government to the COVID-19 fiscal and economic crisis should comply with EU rules. (more…)
George Meredith March 27th, 2020
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: coronavirus, covid-19, EU, State aid
6 October 2017
Professor Erika Szyszczak is a Research Professor in Law at the University of Sussex and a Fellow of UKTPO. She is currently the Special Adviser to the House of Lords Internal Market Sub-Committee in respect of its inquiry into Brexit: competition. She is the author of The Regulation of the State in Competitive Markets (Hart Pub. 2007)
State aid issues are highly politicised. And for good reasons. Taxpayers’ money is being used in a selective manner, without any democratic input into its effective use. Competitors, at home and abroad, feel aggrieved that a firm is either obtaining an unfair advantage or being bailed out, where it cannot compete on the market. But State aid may be necessary to combat unusual situations, such as environmental disasters, or financial crises, or to buy time to rescue and restructure in order to save jobs and a local economy. It may be needed on an ongoing basis to provide public services. (more…)
Charlotte Humma October 6th, 2017
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Article 50, Brexit, Single Market, State aid
