To what extent does an economic and political crisis justify a more lenient approach towards competition restricting measures by ailing companies? Should competition law even be seen as an extension of industrial policy? It is hardly surprising that there is pressure to grant more flexibility in the field of state aid. In other fields of competition law, non-economic values may also be gaining in weight. Would such developments be the right way out of the crisis – and what happens to these rules of economic law once the crisis over?