German State Aid for Covid-19 Medicinal Products: A Risk for Solidarity in the European Union

Abstract

Abstract To respond to the need for a vaccine against and a treatment for Covid-19, the German Federal Government (German government) used various economic incentives to promote pharmaceutical and biotechnological (biotech) research and development (R&D) as well as manufacturing. More specifically, it decided to subsidise several German companies working in this field. Such domestic measures might, however, present a challenge to European state aid law. It is against this backdrop that this article discusses the compatibility of the payments made with the new ‘crisis-born’ European legal framework for state aid. Furthermore, the article offers some critical comments on the aid’s effects on solidarity and cohesion in the European Union (EU) and the proposals put forward for expanding the EU’s health policy competencies.