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Autonomy by the Rules: The European Commission and the Development of State Aid Policy

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  • Mitchell P. Smith

Abstract

The European Commission has enhanced its autonomy to implement state aid policy with a superstructure of frameworks and guidelines constructed on the base of its Treaty‐derived competence. The Commission’s activism has also mobilized private sector actors whose interest in state aid monitoring reinforces the Commission’s claim to being a neutral enforcement agent. However, these constituencies have also made new demands on Commission resources that may constrain the Commission. This finding has important implications for the scope of historical institutionalist analysis, which typically focuses on how Member State governments are constrained by past decisions. Ultimately the autonomy of supranational institutions may be self‐limiting, with emerging constraints deriving not from the preferences of Member State governments, but from the very structuring of the European polity fostered by the autonomous actions of supranational institutions themselves.

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  • Mitchell P. Smith, 1998. "Autonomy by the Rules: The European Commission and the Development of State Aid Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 55-78, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:36:y:1998:i:1:p:55-78
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-5965.00097
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Doleys, 2013. "Managing the Dilemma of Discretion: The European Commission and the Development of EU State Aid Policy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 23-38, March.
    2. Hussein Kassim & Bruce Lyons, 2013. "The New Political Economy of EU State Aid Policy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Nikolaos Zahariadis, 2013. "Winners and Losers in EU State Aid Policy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 143-158, March.
    4. Michelle Cini, 2000. "From Soft Law to Hard Law?: Discretion and Rule-making in the Commission's State Aid Regime," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 35, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    5. Elin Lerum Boasson, 2019. "Constitutionalization and Entrepreneurship: Explaining Increased EU Steering of Renewables Support Schemes," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 70-80.
    6. Alves, Amanda M. & Brousseau, Eric & Yeung, Timothy Yu-Cheong, 2021. "The dynamics of institution building: State aids, the European commission, and the court of justice of the European Union," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 836-859.

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