We advise public sector entities granting support and businesses receiving it. Our goal is to ensure that funding reaches its intended recipients — and stays with them.
State aid is an area of law where mistakes often come to light only after several years. Funding granted years earlier may result in a demand for repayment with interest calculated from the date of disbursement. That is why we assess risks before support is granted, rather than waiting until an audit begins.
Assessing Whether Support Constitutes State Aid
The starting point is always an assessment of whether the proposed support meets the criteria for State aid under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — the use of State resources, selectivity, economic advantage, and an effect on competition and trade between Member States. The answer is often less obvious than it may seem: recapitalising a municipal company, selling property below market value, cancelling outstanding debts or providing infrastructure free of charge may also constitute State aid. We carry out this assessment and prepare a legal memorandum that the entity can present during an audit, together with a justification of the position adopted — including the application of the private investor test.
Permissible Legal Bases for Granting Support
If the support constitutes State aid, the next step is to identify the appropriate legal basis for granting it. We advise on de minimis aid and related record-keeping obligations, schemes based on EU block exemptions, regional aid, aid for research and development, infrastructure, environmental protection and energy, as well as rescue and restructuring aid for undertakings. We prepare draft aid schemes and resolutions of legislative bodies, review them before submission to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and handle matters requiring notification to the European Commission.
Compensation for Services of General Economic Interest
Public transport, waste management, district heating, water supply services, healthcare, sports and cultural infrastructure — in these sectors, support most often takes the form of compensation for performing public service obligations. We prepare acts of entrustment that comply with EU requirements, methodologies for calculating compensation, procedures for identifying overcompensation and mechanisms for recovering excess amounts. We advise on in-house arrangements and on choosing between direct entrustment and competitive tendering — a decision that has implications under both State aid and public procurement law.
Projects Financed by EU and National Funds
We support beneficiaries at every stage: assessing the eligibility of expenditure, structuring project financing, negotiating funding agreements, implementing project amendments, and ensuring compliance with project durability requirements and performance indicators. We represent clients during audits conducted by managing and intermediate authorities, prepare objections to post-audit findings, and handle appeals concerning financial corrections and demands for repayment of funds. We also conduct proceedings before administrative courts concerning the assessment of funding applications.
Recovery of State Aid and Disputes
When allegations arise that State aid has been granted unlawfully, the matter may proceed simultaneously at several levels — administrative, civil and EU. We represent clients in proceedings concerning the recovery of aid with interest, disputes with institutions granting support, and investigations initiated following complaints from competitors. We also advise on challenging aid granted to a competing undertaking — State aid can distort market competition, and businesses should understand how to use the available legal remedies.
State Aid Law – Grants, De Minimis Aid and Recovery of Funds - Styczynski-Keller
