Interaction between public and private undertakings raising competition concerns-chosen issues within State aid, SGEI and Public procurement

The thesis deals with the interplay between public and private undertakings that is nowadays a widely observed phenomenon within the EU/EEA dimension. The roles of the State and private entrepreneurs have been changed due to i.a. liberalisation, deregulat ion, demonopolisation and privatisation. The borderline between the public and the private is today more difficult to define than ever before. It leads to serious consequences of a legal, economic and social nature. The interaction between public and priv ate undertakings may take the form of competition in the same market. However, even if they are active in the same sector they do not necessarily need to compete with each other. The situation may and very often is much more complex. Still, if they do com pete, the single market imperative and the EU/EEA competition law require safeguarding a level playing field. Regrettably, this is often not the case. What is worse, most of the stakeholders are unaware of the existence of numerous problematic issues. It results in distortions of competition and causes substantial tangible and intangible losses. The negative effects should not be evaluated only from the perspective of unsuccessful competitors, but first and foremost from the perspective of consumers, and when discussing State aid and Services of General Economic Interest, especially by referring to taxpayers' welfare. The main aims of the thesis are firstly, to identify the most problematic issues within the field characterised by an interplay of State ai d, SGEI and Public procurement regulations; secondly, to try to find the reason for which workable competition in the internal market is distorted or may easily be distorted; thirdly, to propose solutions that would be most efficient and relatively 'user- friendly'.The concerned fields of law are particularly sensitive and require a careful approach. Any suggested changes in the legal framework or best practices would be acceptable for all the EU/EEA Member States