Where an economic advantage derived from state sources distorts or may distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or production sectors, such advantage is deemed as a State aid and it is subject to the European regulations concerning same. In this field, the European Union has almost exclusive regulatory powers, national legal provisions being limited to provisions concerning the national procedures on State aid and the manner of cooperation between competition authorities, on the one hand, and the suppliers and beneficiaries of State aid on the other hand. The full article is available in full here.