Criterion of Selectivity

The need to ascertain the selectivity of a measure in order to determine whether it constitutes a State aid derives directly from the text of Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Intuitively, it is actually the very fact that a measure favours only some of the market players (or the production of certain goods) that makes it apt to undermine the existence of a level playing field. Therefore, the ‘selectivity’ character seems to be conceived as a means by which a given measure distorts or threatens to distort competition. The chapter explores the case-law of EU Courts on the issue, showing ambiguities and inconsistencies, at the same time underlining the systemic importance of the selectivity criterion, which is directly linked also with other interpretative tools used within EU internal market law.