The EU Commission finds that the potential of the archaeological museum to affect intra-EU trade was low and therefore the measure did not constitute state aid (Messara Creta)

Why Can the Commission Not Be Consistent in its Analysis of Economic Activity and Affectation of Trade?* Introduction If you ask a national official who deals with State aid to identify the most challenging aspects of working with State aid rules, the answer is likely to be “the concept of undertaking” and the “effect on trade”. Other aspects can also be challenging, but a national official is unlikely to agonise about the transfer of state resources, the conferment of advantage or the distortion of competition. After all, when a public authority intervenes, in most cases it wants to confer an advantage through the resources it can mobilise. Therefore, one would have expected the Commission to sharpen its interpretation and to offer useful guidance. Instead, when the Commission finds