The European Court of Auditors (ECA) reported that the European Commission failed to assess the market impact of temporary state aid schemes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to unclear effects on competition. State aid spending surged from €120 billion pre-pandemic to €320 billion in 2020-2021, then decreased to €230 billion in 2022. The ECA noted that while the Commission monitored state aid, it loosened rules during the pandemic and the Ukraine war, and did not investigate the effects on competition. The study was limited to Spain, Italy, and Poland, missing countries with higher expenditures, and lacked transparency on spending. Teljes cikk (Euronews.com)