Getting State Aid Approved by the European Commission: Explaining the Duration of Preliminary Investigations in the State Aid Notification Procedure*

Abstract

This article aims to explain the variation in duration of preliminary investigations in the state aid notification procedure. While this procedure is guided by objective standards, preliminary investigations result in an overwhelming majority of cases being approved in combination with a large variation in duration. This study explores the explanatory power of political and managerial factors at the member state and state aid case level to account for this variation. Based on multilevel regression analysis of a newly created dataset, results show that both political and managerial factors at the state aid case level affect the duration of preliminary investigations. No evidence was found for member state level factors having an effect.