European “Ghost Airports”: EU Law Failure or Policy Failure? The Need for Economic Analysis in State Aid Law
European “Ghost Airports”: EU Law Failure or Policy Failure? The Need for Economic Analysis in State Aid Law

Summary/Abstract: Wasteful spending of public funds, leading to the creation of “ghost airports”, is often described as a regulatory failure and a major deficiency in European State aid control. It is pointed out that decisions to build or upgrade an airport are often ill­conceived, poorly implemented, and without economic justifcation. This raises the question whether European law, namely its State aid control system, contains inherent flaws or whether the European Commission’s decision­making process can be improved by increasing reliance on objective economic reasoning under the existing legal framework. This article provides an analysis of the decision­making problems leading to failed aid efforts; of the role of the economic approach in State aids; and of the standard of economic assessment required in State aid cases. The article concludes with de lege ferenda postulates.

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