Summary

The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility provides EUR672.5bn in grants and loans to EU member states, of which at least 20% must support the digital transition. Most member states allocate a portion of these newly available EU funds for high-speed broadband connectivity and take-up, aiming to bridge the digital divide in line with the EU’s progressively evolving broadband policy targets.

All such state interventions must however comply with the EU’s state aid rules, which ensure that competition and trade is not distorted within the EU by favouring certain companies, goods or services. The European Commission also enforces these rules against tax benefits that some member states may have granted to large digital companies, such as Amazon and Apple.　

Our State Aid & Subsidies service tracks and explains all these developments, allowing companies to prepare for the business risks and commercial opportunities presented by EU state aid rules. State authorities responsible for preparing and executing national digital strategies in Europe and elsewhere will find the service an invaluable tool for comparing publicly funded initiatives in other countries.Cullen International’s State Aid & Subsidies service monitors and explains the EU rules designed to ensure that public support measures in telecoms and the digital economy do not unduly distort competition and private investment.

The principal focus of the service lies in the application of state aid rules to subsidised broadband deployment and take-up measures, on which EU member states spent €17.5bn between 2014 and 2022.
The service allows companies to prepare for the business risks and commercial opportunities presented by EU state aid rules. State authorities responsible for preparing and executing national digital strategies in Europe and elsewhere will find the service an invaluable tool for comparing publicly funded initiatives in other countries.

Topical coverage

The service focuses on demand- and supply-side state aid measures related to fixed and wireless broadband.
Other topics include:

• • other cases of alleged state aid to telecoms operators, for example in relation to spectrum awards;
• • cases of alleged state aid in the form of big tech tax benefits;
• • key EU funding initiatives in telecoms and digital economy, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF); and 
• • the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).

Geographic scope

EU-27 plus Norway

Sectors

Telecoms, Digital Economy

Related services

• • Antitrust & Mergers
• • Telecoms Europe
• • Media Europe
• • Digital Economy Europe
• • Postal Europe
• • Global Trends
• • Sustainability

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Deliverables

Deliverables

Databases
State Aid & Subsidies Database
A user-friendly database of recent publicly funded initiatives that the European Commission (or the EFTA Surveillance Authority for Norway) has assessed or presumed lawful (block exempted) under the EU state aid rules.
The database offers a quick and cost-effective tool to cut through complexity and draw comparisons with your own local circumstances.
Our clear and concise case summaries explain the legal assessment of the state aid measure and highlight the key quantitative aspects (including the budget, duration and intensity of aid).

The database is updated with new or amended case summaries and source documents on a continuous basis.

Reports Flash Messages
News alerts on significant other EU state aid developments across the covered sectors and topics, for example new rules or guidelines.

Explainers or Trackers
Explaining the EU state aid rules that apply to the sectors and topics covered by the service.

Client support Enquiry
Our analysts are there to help you locate information from our reports or to provide additional research, subject to certain conditions.
All deliverables are updated on a regular basis or when a major development occurs, and clients are notified via email alerts.