Press Release: State aid: latest Scoreboard analyses harm done by illegal aid

The spring 2007 update of the State Aid Scoreboard, just adopted by the European Commission, concludes that illegal state aid is in general much more harmful to competition and trade than notified aid. The analysis is based on some 600 Commission decisions on illegal state aid adopted during the past seven years. Illegal aid is aid which has been implemented in a Member State without prior notification to the Commission or before a Commission decision has been taken. The Scoreboard shows that illegal aid is a particular problem in the large Member States (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK account for 73% of the illegal aid cases) and in the industry and services sectors. The Scoreboard also indicates that the amount of incompatible aid effectively recovered has increased significantly in recent years although further efforts are required to ensure more immediate and effective execution of recovery decisions.