Finansowanie rynkowych usług użyteczności publicznej w UE. Pomoc publiczna versus zasady konkurencji.

As a general rule, according to the Treaty any aid granted by a EU member state or through state resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between member states, be incompatible with the internal market. However, under the state aid rules, public authorities are at liberty to finance services of general economic interest as they see fit, provided that such compensation does not go beyond what is necessary to ensure that the SGEIs are performed under economically acceptable conditions. Despite changes in EU law aimed at clarifying and simplifying the applicable rules public authorities providing public service compensation violate the competition rules as often as before.