We have known for a while that the State aid rules were unlikely to fall away following Brexit.

In the event of a “no-deal” Brexit, the Government has now laid draft regulations (The State Aid (EU Exit) Regulations 2019) before Parliament to establish a national framework for State aid. You can also find the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) guidance for a no-deal scenario, here.

At least initially, the rules are not going to change fundamentally. However, post-Brexit, it will be interesting to see how the CMA adapts to taking on the EU Commission’s role as regulator, and whether there is an increase in enforcement activity.

We also hope that the CMA will take the opportunity to consult on and issue new substantive guidance to help public bodies and those receiving support from the State, to navigate complex issues with a degree of assurance; especially as to distortion of competition, market operator benchmarking and the operation of Services of General Economic Interest.

We will provide further updates and commentary on the proposed framework in due course.

Further information

For further information on this briefing, please contact Alex Lawrence.

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