The importance of state aid rules as an instrument of regional policy diminished during the period from 2000 to 2010 because European enlargement reduced the number of areas eligible for higher levels of state aid. The Lisbon Agenda led to more emphasis on horizontal pan-European aid rules, including for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but it struggled to match the USA’s more liberal approach to subsidies. This article examines the UK experience of state aid in the light of the shifting policy agenda at European Union (EU) level, but focuses also on the implications of EU state aid rules for SMEs, in particular by comparing EU with US policy.
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