Target group
The seminar aims to meet the needs of managers and officials from all levels of government and local authorities, officials from public enterprises, representatives of business and trade associations, as well as lawyers and economists.

Learning methodology
The seminar uses a mixture of lectures and case analysis to facilitate the sharing of experiences and mutual learning. Speakers will include officials from European Institutions and Member State administrations and legal practitioners.

Objectives 
The seminar examines in depth the interpretation and application of procedural rules in the field of State Aid and the new procedural Regulation No 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 amending Regulation No 659/1999.

Recovery of aid, which constitutes a weak spot in the enforcement, third parties’ rights and the application of state aid rules by national courts are some of the topics that will be analysed in detail. The seminar will also provide a forum for comparing national experiences as regards administrative arrangements for notifying and registering aid and the enforcement of recovery decisions.

Based on a practice oriented review of the procedures by which State Aid measures are notified to the European Commission, the seminar focuses on the consequences of non-notification and the implications for Member States which are instructed to recover State Aid that is incompatible with the internal market. Hence, the participants will be better equipped to avoid the risk of State Aid repayment, which often jeopardises important projects. In this context they will benefit greatly from exchanging experiences with experts from the EU institutions and other Member States.