Thread by @pmdfoster

The UK Govt is announcing tabling legislation on it's new post-Brexit subsidy control regime today, which it says will be simpler/nimbler...here's @FinancialTimes report with help from @GeorgePeretzQC
@jamesrwebber -- but lots of questions unclear.../1

ft.com/content/4206d1…

@FinancialTimes @GeorgePeretzQC @jamesrwebber This is an area where the UK -- because it no longer needs subsidy controls fit for yoking together 27 sovereign economies as in the EU single market situation -- can indeed be nimbler/quicker....see long #Brexit Briefing piece & thread on why/how here /2

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1398217244925177858?s=20

We now need to see the detail of how the "Advice Unit" in the CMA is going to work -- what role it will play in decisions over potentially controversial subsidies "of interest" and "of particular interest"....and how those categories are going to be decided/3

Also not clear from the Govt Press Release what will replace -- if anything -- the EU block exemption scheme that keeps the bulk of smaller subsidies out of scope.

The UK govt v excited to be rid of that scheme...but not clear how subsides of 'no' interest are determined /4

The government wants a principles-based approach, but if it's rejecting the 'safe harbour' ideas proposed by the likes of @AlexanderPHRose in order to be 'nimbler' it will need to ensure the resulting ambiguity/confusion doesn't have opposite effect /5

@AlexanderPHRose We'll also have to see if this regime is actually any more 'liberal' than the 'ex ante' EU regime -- given that the EU subsidies massively already on stuff like EVs/Gigafactories and #COVID19 recovery /6

@AlexanderPHRose Ultimately, when the government has stopped briefing (without putting everyone in full possession of the facts), we need practitioners like @GeorgePeretzQC @jamesrwebber @AlexanderPHRose to give an assessment of how different/much nimbler the new UK regime is going to be...ENDS