EU and State Aid Law

Safeguarding entrepreneurial freedom across Europe. Managing risks at an early stage.

European law is an integral part of modern business law. Even though it often operates in the background, it shapes nearly all key corporate decisions – from competition and antitrust law to the fundamental freedoms of the internal market, the regulation of entire industries, and employment and consumer law. In practice, however, EU law requirements are often interpreted solely from a national perspective. As a result, a restrictive status quo is frequently accepted, even though EU law may provide significantly broader scope for action.

We analyse EU legal issues consistently from a genuinely European perspective. The aim of our advice is to make one of the European Union’s core promises usable for our clients: a single internal market in which entrepreneurial freedom does not end at national borders. We support companies in identifying and lawfully using the scope provided by EU law and in defending themselves against unjustified national restrictions.

A further key focus of our work lies in European state aid law. Particularly in contracts with public undertakings or when receiving public funding, significant risks arise from the prohibition of unlawful state aid. We mitigate these risks through early-stage advice and state aid-compliant structuring. Where breaches of state aid rules occur, we represent our clients before national and European institutions and work to ensure fair competitive conditions.

We support

Companies, corporate groups, investors, and public and private market participants in the EU-law-based structuring of business models, contracts, and state measures – preventively, strategically, and in contentious proceedings at European level.

Practice areas

• Analysis of national law for compatibility with European law
• Defence of entrepreneurial freedom against unlawful national restrictions
• Assessment of state measures for compliance with EU state aid rules
• Support in designing state aid-compliant public procurement and subsidy schemes
• Complaints before the European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA)
• Litigation in direct actions and preliminary ruling proceedings before the European Courts in Luxembourg

Personal consultation

Would you like to classify an issue or discuss a specific project? Contact us – we combine legal, tax, and economic perspectives into a sustainable solution.