State Aid Enforcement and the National Court [archived]

Overview Top

The training on “State Aid Enforcement and the National Court” as a part of project CONSTANT “COmpetitioN and STate aid law Advanced National Training for judges” took place on 14-16 June 2017 at „RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort“, Pravets. 21 national judges attended the training.

The aim of this training was to familiarise judges with the fundamental notion of state aid and its role in the competition policy in the EU, including relationship with antitrust law and free movement law, the goals and results of the State Aid Modernisation Programme, and the economic rationale of state aid.

The programme during the three consecutive training days focused on questions related to:

• State Aid in the Competition Policy of the EU
• Economic Rationale of State Aid
• The Concept of ‘Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market’
• Aid of Social Character
• Aid for Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)
• Damages in State Aid Cases
• Private State Aid Enforcement
• The Application of EU State Aid Law to Broadband, and other topics.

The advanced-level training also covered the elements of the state aid prohibition in Article 107 TFEU along with the exemptions under Article 107(2), 107(3), 106(2) TFEU, and the implications of the case of Deutsche Lufthansa AG v Flughafen Frankfurt/Hahn GmbH for the separation of powers and the role of national courts in state aid.

The judges took active part in the discussions on cases from the national practice and from the practice of the European Court of Justice.

According to participants’ feedback, the strongest accents in the training were its practical approach, the case study discussions, and speakers' expertise and experience. The quality of the training materials and the overall event organisation were also positively assessed.

Agenda Top

Day 1, 14 June 2017 (Wednesday)

Day 2, 15 June 2017 (Thursday)

Day 3, 16 June 2017 (Friday)

Venue Top

The training on “State Aid Enforcement and the National Court” will be held at „RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort“, Pravets.

The hotel „RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort“ is situated at a picturesque lake in the vicinity of Pravts town, with a close distance (less than hour) to the capital - Sofia.

LIBRe Foundation will provide each participant in the training with hotel accommodation (3 nights for the period 13.06.2017 – 16.06.2017, including breakfast and tourist tax for a single-room accommodation), as well as lunches, dinners, and coffee breaks for each training day, in accordance with the training schedule. The participant package includes free use of thermal zone, SPA centre, inside swimming pool, fitness centre, and Internet.

The organiser does not cover expenses for alcoholic drinks, mini bar, telephone calls from the guest rooms or any other personal expenses throughout the training.

The hotel check-in is available after 15:00 in the day of arrival. The check-out should be made not later than 12:00 in the day of departure. You will be notified on any possibilities for late check-outs.

Each participant will be reimbursed for their travel costs for train or bus services after they provide the tickets for the journey. If you use your work or personal vehicle, the travel costs will be reimbursed in accordance with the rules for reimbursement in Bulgaria, with no larger amount than 70 BGN, considering the type of vehicle, the fuel consumption, and the distance, and after a receipted invoice is provided by the participant.

• With public transport: bus

Pravets main bus station is located 4,5km from „RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort“. If you choose this option you could request a transfer from the bus station to the hotel. Please notify us on such matter by filling the online Registration form (please use the field “Share your expectations for the upcoming training event”).

• With personal vehicle: automobile

„RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort“ is located at the address: Pravets, 8 Ezeroto Sq. (GPS coordinates: 42°54'32.8"N 23°53'39.9"E). The hotel has a private parking which you could use for free.

Every participant enlisted for the training will receive detail directions for travel and accommodation after confirming their participation.

Speakers Top

Hein Hobbelen is a legal expert whose practice focuses on EU and Dutch Competition Law, telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) regulation and EU Trade Law. His sector experience also covers industries such as electrical engineering, chemicals, financial services, glass, energy generation equipment, paper and healthcare. Mr Hobbelen is regularly involved in multijurisdictional cartel investigations and ensuing litigation. He also guides clients through complex, cross border merger transactions and has significant experience of coordinating international teams.

Ivan Georgiev is a former regional judge (2010-2016) with special interests and practical experience in Competition Law. Mr. Georgiev is also a former member of the Association of European Competition Law Judges (2014-2016). He is currently a practising lawyer and managing partner of a law firm active in the field of Competition Law at national level.

Kiril Pangelov is a lawyer with more than 12 years of professional experience in the Bulgarian Competition Authority (CPC) and from 2010 to 2016 he was Director of the Competition Law and Policy Directorate at the CPC. In the period from 2013 to 2016 he was a consultant to UNCTAD in the framework of the voluntary peer review of Albania's competition law and policy. He also has professional experience in the field of regulation and supervision in the financial sector. He graduated ’Law’ at Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ in 2002. Besides, as of 2006 he holds a Master's degree in ‘Finance’ from Veliko Tarnovo University ‘St. St. Cyril and St. Methodius’, as well as a Master's degree in ‘ EU Law’ from Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ and the University of Nancy (France) as of 2008. He has specialized in competition law at the Academy of European Law in Trier (Germany) and has an internship in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition (Brussels). He is the author of numerous articles in the field of European competition law and co-author of the book ‘The new legal framework for the protection of competition’, ‘Trud i pravо’, Sofia, 2009.

Dr Mladen Mladenov is an expert with Master Degrees in Law, Public Finance and Management.  His Doctoral Degree is on “Managing Conflicts. Methods of Alternative Dispute Resolutions in Tax Process (In the Context of Revenue Administration)”. He has been teaching ‘Financial Law’ and ‘Legal Regime of Financial Management’ for many years in New Bulgarian University, as well as ‘Administrative Procedure Code’ in the Institute of Public Administration. He has experience as an attorney-at-law, regional judge, Head Of Appeals Department and Chief Legal Advisor in General Tax Directorate and State Inspector in the Inspectorate to Ministry of Finance. He is currently consulting the public sector in projects and trainings in Bulgaria and abroad.

Presentations Top

Day 1, 14 June 2017

• State Aid in the Competition Policy of the EU, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
• Economic Rationale of State Aid, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
• The Concept of ‘Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market’, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)

Day 2, 15 June 2017

• Aid of Social Character, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
• Aid for Economic and Cultural Development, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
• Aid for Services of General Economic Interest, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
• Damages in State Aid Cases, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
• Private State Aid Enforcement (Part I),Att. Ivan Georgiev and Kiril Pangelov (available only in Bulgarian)

Day 3, 16 June 2017

• The Application of EU State Aid Law to Broadband, Att. Hein Hobbelen
• Private State Aid Enforcement (Part II), Kiril Pangelov (available only in Bulgarian)

Videos (by Modules) Top

Day 1, 14 June 2017

• State Aid in the Competition Policy of the EU, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Economic Rationale of State Aid, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
  

• The Concept of ‘Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market’, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Open Q&A Session and Discussion on EU and National Court Practice with Respect to Recent Cases and Development of Specific Markets, Att. Ivan Georgiev and Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

Day 2, 15 June 2017

• Aid of Social Character, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Aid for Economic and Cultural Development, Dr. Mladen Mladenov (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Aid for Services of General Economic Interest, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Damages in State Aid Cases, Att. Ivan Georgiev (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

• Private State Aid Enforcement (Part I), Att. Ivan Georgiev and Kiril Pangelov (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

Day 3, 16 June 2017

• Introduction on the Application of State Aid Law in the Broadband Sector, Att. Hein Hobbelen
  
  

• Broadband Case Study, Att. Hein Hobbelen
  
  

• Private State Aid Enforcement (Part II), Kiril Pangelov (available only in Bulgarian)
  
  

Training Proceedings Top

"State Aid and the National Court" Training Proceedings presents the spakers' efforts to further enhance the training conducted in June 2017 by providing additional materials and guidance on the topics discussed. The training proceedings include:

• 'State Aid in the Competition Policy of the EU' by Att. Ivan Georgiev (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Economic Rationale of State Aid' by Dr. Mladen Mladenov (only in Bulgarian)
• 'The Concept of ‘Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market' by Dr. Mladen Mladenov (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Aid of Social Character' by Att. Ivan Georgiev (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Aid for Economic and Cultural Development' by Dr. Mladen Mladenov (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Aid for Services of General Economic Interest' by Att. Ivan Georgiev (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Damages in State Aid Cases' by Att. Ivan Georgiev (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Private State Aid Enforcement (part 1)' by Kiril Pangelov (only in Bulgarian)
• 'Introduction on the Application of State Aid Law in the Broadband Sector', the report was drafted on the basis of the presentation of att. Hein Hobbelen and materials provided by him
• 'Private State Aid Enforcement (part 2)' by Kiril Pangelov (only in Bulgarian)

The texts are selected and prepared for publishing by the CONSTANT project team in the face of Ivo Emanuilov, Project Coordinator, and Alexandra Tsvetkova, Project Manager.

Further Information Top

For more information on the event or if you wish to change the submitted information related to your dates of arrival and departure, you could contact: