EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS

Prague, Czechia

EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS 2022

there is a fluid boundary between the prohibition of using competences in whole or in part and the situation in which this competence is limited or absent (Machnikowski, 2005). The doctrine argues, however, that the effects of lack of competence or exceeding it may be different. Under the law, various solutions are possible – for example, despite exceeding the competences, the legislature may, in order to protect certain values ​(trust of a citizen in public authorities, certainty of legal transactions, protection of acquired rights), order that the contract be treated as valid, despite the fact that a legal act has been performed by an entity that does not have the appropriate competences In the light of the relevant legal provisions (Wronkowska, 1994). At the same time, the author of this text points out that the provision of aid by the competent state authorities for sports clubs in light of the provisions on state aid may also be regarded as exceeding the competences. If the aforementioned threshold of de minimis aid is exceeded, the requirements of the Private Creditor Test and the Private Investor Test are not met, as well as the inability to apply the exemptions provided for in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the action will be considered as exceeding the granted competences or even as failing to maintain these competences by the competent public authority. Under European Union law, it is not permitted to support sports clubs that are entrepreneurs, due to the possibility of distorting competition. Competition is one of the most important values ​protected by the European Union, which is even confirmed in the preamble to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which indicated: “removal of existing obstacles calls for concerted action in order to guarantee steady expansion, balanced trade and fair competition”, as well as in Article 3(1)(b) of the Treaty, in which it was indicated that The Union shall have exclusive competence in the establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market. 3.3 Examples of legal instruments used as support for sports clubs – border law instruments Selected examples of legal instruments supporting sports clubs, which – in the author’s opinion – are a good example of border law instruments, will be presented below. 3.3.1 Support based on sponsorship agreements between the club and the state The sponsorship agreement can be defined as follows: through the sponsorship agreement, the entrepreneur (sponsor) undertakes to provide a specific cash benefit to support the activities carried out by the sponsored person or to achieve the general goal desired by them, in return for which the sponsored undertaking

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