A Deep Dive into the New UK Subsidy Regime with Dr Alexandra von Westernhagen

Introduction

Since 1 January 2021, and thanks to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the UK now has its own subsidy regime. EU state aid rules no longer apply to the UK, subject to certain exceptions.

But what does this mean in practice?

Presented by Dr Alexandra von Westernhagen, a leading state aid lawyer and trainer with over 20 years’ experience in advising on state aid and other EU regulatory law matters, gained both at UK as well as EU level, this workshop will walk you through the UK’s new Subsidy Control Act 2022 and how to comply with it in practice.

It will also remind you of the legal framework for EU state aid law, as well as the features of the WTO subsidy regime - and which regime applies when to public organisations in the UK.

This session is suitable for lawyers, public organisations and companies who receive public funding in the UK and those within continental Europe who would like to understand the complex net of provisions that apply to public organisations in one of the largest economies of the world.

What You Will Learn

This course will cover the following:

Part 1 - The EU State Aid and WTO Subsidy Regimes

• Reminder of the conditions of EU state aid
• Services of General Economic Interest
• Possible exemptions
• The de minimis exemption
• The Block Exemption regulation
• Enforcement of EU state aid rules
• Enforcement by the EU
• Features of the WTO Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement

Part 2 - The UK’s New Subsidy Regime

• Provisions under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement
• Overview
• Enforcement
• Enforcement within the UK
• Enforcement possibilities by the EU
• The Subsidy Control Act
• Overview and key interpretations
• Subsidy control requirements
• How to do an assessment in compliance with the Act’s principles
• The streamlined procedure
• Subsidies of interest and of particular interest and how to deal with them
• Exemptions
• Functions of the Competition Markets Authority
• Referrals
• Enforcement
• Transparency requirements
• Next steps
• The special case of Northern Ireland