The Measure Affects Trade Between Member States

State aid measures must affect trade between EU member states. This includes also potential effects on trade. Most products and services are traded between member states and therefore aid for almost any selected business or economic activity could affect trade between states. This applies even in situations where the subsidized company itself does not directly sell its products to other member states. Indeed, where a member state grants a public subsidy to an undertaking, the beneficiary’s supply of products may be kept at the same level or increased with the result that undertakings established in other member states may have less chance of providing their services in the member state granting the aid. The only likely exceptions are single businesses, e.g. hairdressers or dry cleaners with a purely local market presence not close to a member state border. Case law also shows that even very small amounts of aid can affect trade.