Book Reviews Evans, Andrew. EC Law of State Aid. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. Pp. 484. EC law on state aid is a fundamental area of Community law, both for the public and the private sector. Its central importance is paralleled by its great complexity and sometimes uncertainty. For this reason, a comprehensive and detailed publication on this subject, such as Evan's EC Law of State Aid, cannot but be welcomed. The book starts by describing the concept of state aid under Article 92(1) EC Treaty as well as the conditions that make it illegal (Chapters 1 and 2). It then examines the compensatory justification under Article 92(2) and 92(3) EC Treaty, i.e. the cases where state aid shall or may be compatible with the common market (Chapter 3), devoting particular attention to regional aid, i.e. aid awarded on the basis of regional criteria (Chapter 4), to sectoral aid, i.e. aid awarded to certain economic activities (Chapter 5) and to so-called `horizontal aid', i.e. aid directed towards goals thar differ from assistance to particular regions or sectors, for example, job creation (Chapter 6). Finally, it deals with the legal sources regulating state aid and the procedures for the awarding of state aid (Chapter 7). The book has various remarkable qualities and some shortcomings. As for its positive qualities, it first and foremost relies on accurate and painstaking analysis of the many sources of EC law on state aid. In particular, the praxis of the Commission and the rulings of the ECJ are extensively described and critically assessed. To this extent, it is an extremely valuable volume for anyone who already has a background in EC law and wants to learn the ins and outs of state aid. Second, the law and its application are analysed from an economic viewpoint as well. This is essential in a legal area strictly related to the common market where a merely formal approach would not lead to any useful results. Third, it shows how Community law on state aid has developed, especially with regard to the changes of the common market and the enlargement of the Community. Fourth, EC law on state aid is explored in the light of its institutional implications as well as in relation to other fields of EC law (for example, structural policy or agricultural policy). Finally, Evan's book is, on the whole, well written and easy to follow. In contrast, the major defect of Evan's book is its scarce conceptualization of the analysed material. Although an over-reliance on theory rather than on exact findings is a defect which should be avoided, and this book certainly and fortunately cannot be accused of this, a good legal work should not neglect the theoretical framework. Despite the fact that Evan's book consists not only of description but also of critique, such a framework becomes evident only sporadically throughout the book and in the conclusions. Second, although the material is generally well organized in the various chapters, a true introduction is absent and the reader is abruptly dropped in the midst of the technicalities of the law. Moreover, the chapter on the procedures concerning authorization of state aid could have been expanded and made a little clearer. Third, the author regularly refers to the opinion of the Advocate General, but only sometimes specifies whether the ECJ has followed it. Finally, there are a couple of debatable points. For example, in the introductory analysis of Article 92 EC Treaty exegetic conclusions are drawn from the use of the term `promote' (Article 92(3)(a)) rather than `facilitate' (Article 92(3)(c)) without considering the fact that such a difference does not exist in the German version of the Treaty and that according to Article 248 EC Treaty and Article S EU Treaty all linguistic versions are equally authentic (at 16). Another example: in the analysis of the condition of distortion of competition under Article 92(1) EC Treaty, the statement that the application of the de minimus rule in the state aid field may be seen as incorporating the subsidiarity principle of Article 3b EC Treaty seems very questionable, especially since this concept is not even briefly treated (at 99). Finally, from a layout perspective, the placement of some footnotes next to each other, rather than one beneath the other, is neither elegant nor clear. State aid is an area of EC law that will probably continue to develop in the years to come. The future accession of some Eastern European countries and the probable non-expansion of the Community structural funds will increase the significance of state aid and at least partially modify its practice. At the same time, there are sectors such as banking that have been the object of decisions of the Commission on state aid only in the very recent past. For these reasons, one can expect that an updated version of Evan's book will soon become necessary. This will give the author an opportunity to develop a more thorough theoretical framework and amend the few flaws of this very interesting and valuable work. Luigi Malferrari University of Heidelberg and Harvard Law School
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