STATE AID AND BANKING ACTIVITIES: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LAW
| Pages | 349-356 |
| Date | 01 April 1996 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024893 |
| Published date | 01 April 1996 |
| Author | MARC DASSESSE |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of
Financial
Regulation and
Compliance,
Vol.
4 No. 4,
1996.
pp. 349-356
©Henry Stewart Publications, 1358-1988
STATE AID AND BANKING ACTIVITIES: THE IMPACT OF
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LAW
Received: 13th August, 1996
MARC DASSESSE
MARC
DASSESSE
IS PROFESSOR
AT
THE FACULTY OF LAW AND
AT THE INSTITUTE FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES
OF
THE FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS. HE
IS A MEMBER OF THE BRUSSELS BAR AND A
PARTNER AT MCKENNA
&
CUNEO, LLP. HE
HAS WRITTEN NUMEROUS ARTICLES IN THE
FIELD OF EC TAX LAW AND BANKING AND EC
FINANCIAL LAW AND IS CO-AUTHOR OF 'EC
BANKING LAW PUBLISHED BY LLOYDS OF
LONDON PRESS.
HE CAN BE CONTACTED AT MCKENNA AND
CUNEO LLP, 56 RUE DES COLONIES (BOX 14),
B-1000 BRUSSELS,
TEL. (32-2)
278-1211,
FAX. (32-2) 278-1200.
ABSTRACT
The
purpose
of
the present
paper is not to
review the rules applicable whenever a
member state
wishes,
in a
straightforward
manner, to
grant
financial aid to a
credit
institution which
has run into
difficulties.1
Its
ambition
is,
instead,
to draw attention
to the impact of European Community
law whenever a credit institution loans
money
to, or
underwrites bonds issued
by,
a
client which
benefits from
irregular state
aid.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY RULES
ON STATE AID
A key provision of the Treaty of
Rome (the Treaty) is Article 92.
Article 92.1 lays down the general
principle of the prohibition of state
aid as follows:
'Save as otherwise provided in this
Treaty, any aid granted by a Mem-
ber State or through state resour-
ces in any form whatsoever which
distorts or threaten to distort com-
petition by favouring certain
undertakings or the production of
certain goods shall, in so far as it
affects trade between Member
States, be incompatible with the
common market'.
Articles 92.2 and 92.3 then go on to
list certain types of aid which are or
may be considered to be compatible
with the common market. However,
attention must be drawn to the fact
that it is for the Commission, and not
349
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