Prohibition of roadside advertising does not constitute State Aid

On 29th January 2018, the European Commission concluded that the prohibition of outdoor advertising on roads in the Czech Republic does not constitute State Aid.The case arose in October 2017 when the Commission received a complaint from an advertising agency that, by introducing amendments to the Roads Act, that the Czech authorities granted illegal State Aid to its competitors.Rejecting the complaint the Commission noted that the measure was directed at improving road safety, applies to equally to all companies involved in such advertising, and does not involve the transfer of state funds.  Therefore no breach of Article 107 TFEU was discernible.More information available on the Commission's competition website, in the State Aid Register under the case number SA.48856.