On 29th October the Warsaw Competition Practice Group and the Polish Competition Law Association organized a workshop titled: “State aid in liberalized sectors” held at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Warsaw. Over 70 people turned up, including clients and representatives of the Polish competition authority and other Polish government agencies. Delegates were drawn by the high-profile panelists and the attractive, up-to-the-minute subject matter.

Topics discussed included state aid issues in the energy, telecommunications, transport and postal services, and remaining public infrastructure sectors.

The conference took the form of four interactive and dynamic discussion panels moderated by Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Barańska, partner in the Warsaw office, head of the Warsaw Competition Practice and chairperson of the Competition Law Association:

Panel I Energy – Time for electrifying changes?
Panel II Transportation – All roads lead to … notification.
Panel III Telecommunications – A blurred signal?
Panel IV Public infrastructure – Building on quicksand…

Panelists included:

• Magdalena Popiołek, a European Commission (DG Competition) officer specializing in state aid in the infrastructure sector and in relation to EU-funded projects,
• Dr Piotr Pełka, Head of the State Aid Monitoring Department at the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection
• Dr Anna Samsel van Haasteren, a European Commission (DG Competition) officer specializing in state aid issues in the energy and transport sectors, participating in the Commission’s State Aid Modernization program, and
• Dr Michał Bernat, legal adviser at the Dentons Warsaw Competition Practice Group.
  The panelists explained the ins and outs of regulations on state aid in each sector. They also discussed more general trends in state aid law development arising from recent judicial decisions of the EU courts and practice of the European Commission, with particular reference to controversial and unresolved issues.

The event was topped off with networking during a mini-cocktail meeting after the official panels. It was a great opportunity to meet the panelists in person ‒ in less formal circumstances ‒ and raise topics not covered during the conference due to time constraints.

The whole event was a huge success in terms of topics discussed, knowledge shared, turnout and organization.

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