Analysis of the European Union COVID-19-Related State Aid Rules and Their Application in the Croatian Maritime Sector

Abstract

The paper presents the possibilities that Member States have under Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak to subsidise undertakings having liquidity problems or suffering damage because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Under the European Union Law, State aids are forbidden. However, some exceptions from that general rule are expressly provided for by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Member States mostly used Article 107, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Treaty as a legal basis for subsidising their economies in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been qualified as an exceptional occurrence causing a serious disturbance in the economies of Member States. In the decisions authorising the State aid granted due to the COVID-19 crisis, the European Commission referred to its previous decision-making practice and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Finally, the paper analyses the national State aid scheme that the Republic of Croatia adopted to support undertakings performing economic activities in the maritime and related sectors, based on the relevant EU regulations.