Germany gets 47% of state aid. Is this a “Level Playing Field”, M Barnier?

EU gives Germany free hand over COVID but wants to stop UK from competing

The EU's "Competition Commissioner" Margrethe Vestager, © EU Parliament 2020

Exposed: How the EU tries to punish UK for Brexit, but uses double standards

The EU continues to insist on controlling the UK’s ability to compete on the world stage. In this report Brexit Facts4EU.Org exposes just one of the many ways in which the EU is exhibiting flagrant hypocrisy in its dealings with the United Kingdom.

We have analysed every decision of the EU Commission regarding “State Aid” since the start of the Coronavirus crisis. Many of these decisions have been made retrospectively by the Commission. The drastic measures implemented by individual member governments were in effect ‘faits accomplis’. The Commission has merely approved a lot of “exceptions” for appearances’ sake.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Which countries have been allowed the most state aid by the EU?

On Monday 25 May 2020 the EU’s Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, spoke to the EU Parliament and was then questioned by MEPs. She was asked to give details of the State Aid which the Commission has approved since the start of the Coronavirus crisis.

  • €2.13 trillion of State Aid has now been agreed by the EU Commission
  • The EU’s approvals for Germany amount to 47% of the total
  • That's more than 1,000 billion for Germany
  • The EU Commission has approved 174 national measures - i.e. 174 actions taken unilaterally by EU countries
  • EU Commission says “nearly 4%” approved for UK
  • Our tally from the EU's own figures for the UK shows 2.8%

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to enlarge

NOTE 1: The United Kingdom is STILL subject to the EU’s State Aid laws and regulations, despite having technically left the EU on 31 January this year. See below.

NOTE 2: Brexit Facts4EU.Org tried hard to reconcile Ms Vestager's figures with each individual EU approval of State Aid measures published by the EU Commiassion. We were unable to do so. Our own figures, based on reviewing all EU approvals of State Aid, differ. This is almost certainly for the reasons Ms Vestager gave on Monday: "Not all schemes have very precise budgets." We have used Ms Vestager's figures in the chart above.

“Why control State Aid?”

Here is what the EU Commission has to say:-

“A company which receives government support gains an advantage over its competitors. Therefore, the Treaty generally prohibits State Aid unless it is justified by reasons of general economic development. To ensure that this prohibition is respected and exemptions are applied equally across the European Union, the European Commission is in charge of ensuring that State Aid complies with EU rules.”

“But hasn’t the UK already left the EU?”

No, the UK remains in the European Union in that it must continue to obey EU law and must continue to pay. The only real difference since 31 January 2020 is that the UK no longer has a say over anything which the EU wishes to do to it.

When it comes to State Aid, here is what the EU Commission says about the United Kingdom:-

“During the transition period (until 31 December 2020), pursuant to Article 127(1) and (3) of the Withdrawal Agreement, Union law shall be applicable to and in the United Kingdom, shall produce the same legal effects as those which it produces within the Union and its Member States and shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with the same methods and general principles of those applicable within the Union. In addition, any reference to Member States in the Union law shall be understood as including the United Kingdom, pursuant to Article 127(6).”

The “trade talks” and Michel Barnier’s interference in the sovereign affairs of the United Kingdom

The fourth round of the UK-EU “trade talks” are due to start next week. Round three ended in acrimony and recriminations. All eyes will now be on the resumption of talks on Monday to see whether fences will be mended, or whether they will be damaged still further.

Matters were certainly not helped on Monday of this week when Michel Barnier replied to a letter sent by a group of minority party leaders from the United Kingdom. Here is Monsieur Barnier’s letter, and below it is our reply to him.

© EU Commission 2020 - click to enlarge

© Twitter / Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to go to Twitter

Observations

The great State Aid virus in Brussels

In the early days of the outbreak of Coronavirus across the EU it is fair to say that the EU Commission was caught napping. When fleetness of foot and decisive action was needed, Brussels was found to be sorely lacking in both these attributes.

Faced with what countries saw in front of themselves they acted, regardless of EU law. Borders were summarily and unilaterally closed. Freedom of movement effectively ceased. Individual member governments placed bans on the export of certain essential goods to other EU member states. They also tore up the rules on state aid and fiscal and monetary constraints.

In short, individual member states took matters into their own hands. Pleas for “solidarity” from the Eureaucrats in Brussels went unheeded in the capitals of the EU countries. It was every country for itself.

We would like to pose an imaginary situation and a question to our readers

Imagine the UK Government signed up to some kind of trade deal with the EU which is roughly in line with the EU’s current demands. Then further imagine that something like a new Coronavirus hits the United Kingdom in a couple of years’ time. Let’s further suppose that this new virus is almost completely contained within the UK.

The UK Government might reasonably wish to act immediately in the financial interests of the country, its citizens and its businesses. The domestic economies of the EU27 would of course be largely unaffected, so they would have no such urgent decisions to take.

Does anyone seriously imagine that the EU Commission would rush to approve all manner of measures which the UK Government had to take? Is it remotely conceivable that the EU would say “Look, in the spirit of being good neighbours, (something we are legally required to be, by our Treaty), we’re with you all the way. Do what you have to do. Don’t worry about what our trade deal says – these are exceptional circumstances and we just want you to get through this.”

Or is is possible that EU Commissioners would instead be piling gleefully into their chauffeur-driven limousines and tanking up the motorway to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Luxembourg, clutching fistfuls of injunctions to present to their Justices, to penalise the United Kingdom in every way they could think of?

We think readers know the answer.

David Frost and the UK negotiating team

The UK's David Frost taking on Michel Barnier and his EU team © EU Commission 2020

This is one of the many reasons why David Frost and his UK trade negotiations team must remain resolute next week. No jurisdiction by the CJEU (ECJ), no “Level Playing Field” restrictions, no control over the United Kingdom’s ability to act as a free and independent country.

It is more important than ever to keep up full support for the UK’s Chief Negotiator and his team. On Monday Michel Barnier wrote that the EU is “open” to a two year extension to the Transition Period. This means that this is what they want. It also means they want the UK to keep paying for a further two years and to keep being a subservient colony for all that time.

No. No. No. No extension to this servitude.

We continue to fight on for a full, clean Brexit and for a fully-independent United Kingdom. We need your help to keep going. Please donate whatever you can afford today, using one of the quick and secure donation methods below. We can’t do this without you. Thank you so much.

[ Sources: EU Parliament | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thur 28 May 2020

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