State Aids to Small Firms in the European Community

Abstract

David Bennett is a non-practising barrister who, having previously been lecturer in European Community Law at the University of Liverpool, England, is now a director of Bennett Safetywear Limited, a company based in Liverpool and engaged in the manufacture and distribution of protective clothing in the United Kingdom and Europe. The deterioration in the economic situation witnessed throughout Western Europe over the last decade has exerted considerable pressure on national governments to increase the level of financial assistance provided to industry. One of the principal beneficiaries of this growth has been the small firm sector. The purpose of this paper is to examine this trend towards national support of small firms against the background of the European Community's competition policy. More specifically, it aims to assess the extent to which the Commission of the European Communities is prepared to treat the small firm sector as a special category in its application of Community rules on state aids to industry and to take over the responsibility of national governments in support of this important sector.