EU State Aid Policy : Poland’s Perspective on Evolution

Abstract

The state aid provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union have remained unchanged practically since the beginning of the European economic integration. The same wording can be found already in the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community signed in 1957. Subsequent amendments to the first Treaty, dictated by the new economic challenges, such as the building of the EU internal market (Single European Act of 1986) or the Economic and Monetary Union (Maastricht Treaty of 1992), as well as political motivations (Treaty of Amsterdam, Treaty of Lisbon) and subsequent enlargements of the EU (in 1973, 1981, 1986, 1995, 2004, and 2013) did not introduce any material changes except replacing the term “common market” with “internal market” in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Does it mean that after more than 60 years when these provisions have been binding, they should be modified to, as some people suggest, in order to better reflect today’s challenges? What position should Poland adopt in this field? To answer these questions, we need to take a closer look at premises and circumstances surrounding the adoption of this provision, its nature and consequences for the entire EU and for individual Member States, including Poland in the association period and over fifteen years of the country’s EU membership.