Women’s access to and enjoyment of human rights are increasingly being used as a global measure of other “goods” in societies: for instance as a measure of development, a gauge of the health and depth of democracy and as a general indicator of a [...]
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The latest on the STLR radar:
U.S. says butt out: U.S. Senators criticize EU Commission over delay of Oracle-Sun deal. (See our deal cheat sheet here.)
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Context
This Economist’s Note considers the use of state aid policy in Europe to control the flow of public funds to the banking sector during the financial crisis, and the potential implications of so doing.
Key points
During the financial crisis, state aid decisions have had to prioritise saving financial institutions over distortions to competition. But post-crisis, saving institutions is not the same as saving the financial system. The more stable the financial system becomes, the easier it is for state aid control to take a tough approach to aided banks.
Practical significance
Looking forward, as aid is unwound there is a policy choice to be made whether to prioritise competition in the single market (by coordinating withdrawal of aid) or to prioritise competition within national markets (by removing state support as and when local conditions [...]
The ECJ’s ruling in the T-Mobile Netherlands case misses an opportunity to provide more clarity on the distinction between restrictions by object and restrictions by effect within the meaning of Article 81 EC. Instead, it adds to the confusion regarding the treatment of information exchanges between competitors by seemingly moving away from a more economic [...]
