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Carole Maczkovics

Of Counsel

Brussels +32 2 545 7515

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Carole Maczkovics has is a market leader in State aid law, with a robust background in the economic regulation of network industries (energy and transport) and in public contracting (EU subsidies, public procurement, concessions).

    Carole has a proven track record of advising public and private entities in administrative and judicial proceedings on complex State aid and regulatory matters before the European Commission as well as before the Belgian and European courts. She also advises clients on the application of the EU Foreign Subsidy Regulation (FSR) and UK subsidy control regime.

    Carole has published many articles on State aid law and on the FSR, and contributes to conferences and seminars on a regular basis. She is a visiting lecturer at King’s College London on the FSR and at the Brussels School of Competition on the application of regulation and competition law (including State aid) in the railway sector. Carole gives trainings on State aid law at EFE, in Paris. She also acts as Academic Director of the European State aid Law Institute (EStALI).

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Represents clients in complaining with the European Commission against EU Member States for State aid granted to competitors and in restoring a level playing field notably by assisting on issues relating to privatizations, restructuring of firms in difficulty, settlements, economic continuity of the beneficiary of aid.
    • Assists a client in a preliminary investigation launched by the European Commission against an EU Member State for alleged State aid granted to the client.
    • Represents public authorities and undertakings in national court cases regarding State aid matters such as the recovery of recoverable advances, the setting aside of a regulatory measure allegedly amounting to unlawful State aid and alleged unlawful fiscal exemptions.
    • Represented clients to challenge the funding of an energy infrastructure before the Commission under State aid, public procurement and energy rules as well as challenged a previous Commission's positive decision on the funding of that energy infrastructure before the General Court of the EU.
    • Assisted the commercial subsidiary of a public utility on its restructuring (financial intervention of the mother company, transfer of concession contracts, repatriation of strategic assets to the mother company through purchase or through expropriation, sales of assets, privatization, etc.) under State aid and administrative law, including public procurement rules and defended the client before Court against a potential buyer challenging the restructuring process.
    • Provided a legal opinion on the financing of a support scheme to RES-electricity producers.
    • Represented companies before the General Court of the EU for the annulment of a recovery decision relating to a guarantee scheme as well as before national courts and the Court of Justice in a preliminary ruling relating to the same recovery decision.
    • Analyzed the various funding sources of an energy distributor under State aid law and made recommendations.

    • Advised a large media company on the potential State aid qualification of differentiated tariffs for broadcasting the Football World Cup on giant screens.
    • Advised under State aid law a public authority promoting tourism on the implementation of the policy consisting of subsidising some specific projects (museums, artistic and cultural centres, MICE).
    • Advised a private company on the possibility for a public authority to support undertakings in difficulty pursuant to the principle of Market Economy Operator or to the Commission's guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty.
    • Assisted a public undertaking under State aid and public procurement laws regarding its entrustment with the public service that it initially provided in monopoly.
    • Advises clients in the energy and railway sectors on regulatory matters such as access to infrastructure, wholesale services prices, vertical separation obligations and the powers of the regulatory body.
    • Represented a client before the European Court of Justice in a preliminary ruling on the status under public procurement law of the subsidiary of a State owned railway company.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • King's College London, LL.M., 2008
        • European Law
    • University of Liège, 2001
        • Licence in law
    Bar Admissions
    • Brussels
    Languages
    • French
    • English
    • Dutch
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Lecturer on competition law and rail regulation at King’s College London.
    • Lecturer on competition law and regulation of the railway sector at the Brussels School of Competition.
    • Trainer at the EFE (Paris) on State aid.
    Previous Experience
    • Government commissioner to a large public company (2004-2008)
    • Expert in the office of the Belgian Federal Minister of Transport (2003-2007)

    Areas of Expertise

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