This course addresses the national and supranational regimes providing for the control of subsidies and similar measures (such as tax breaks, preferential loans and unlimited guarantees). It focuses on the EU and UK systems—and in particular EU State aid law, the UK Subsidy Control Act 2022 and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

The module is structured around four main areas. First, an introductory part explores the rationale behind subsidy control regimes and covers the basic institutional and substantive features of national and supranational arrangements. The second part deals with the boundaries of the notion of subsidy (‘State aid’ in EU parlance). The module then addresses to some of the most prominent areas of enforcement in theory and practice, including environmental and energy aid. The final part of the course is devoted to procedural matters.