The EU Commission approves a State aid scheme partly because it didn’t contain aid and partly because it was compatible with the internal market (Primary Residence Protection Scheme)

Public Subsidies to Households Can Be State aid* Introduction The fact that a public measure has social objectives and aims to help poor households or disadvantaged persons instead of undertakings does not necessarily remove it from the reach of State aid rules. During the past decade, in response to the economic crisis, a number of Member States have tried to support households which fell behind in their mortgage payments. Although the express intention was to assist hard-pressed home owners, banks could indirectly benefit as well. In this situation, the assessment of the compatibility of possible State aid with the internal market can be rather tricky. In its decision SA.53520, the Commission examined a Greek scheme for the protection of “primary residences”.[1] [A similar Cypriot