State Aid Law Blog

State Aid Uncovered Blog

In Lexxion’s State Aid Uncovered blog, Prof. Phedon Nicolaides publishes weekly critical analyses of recent State aid judgments and decisions. Each post presents the key points of a court judgment or EU Commission decision, places it in the context of similar case law or practice, assesses the underlying reasoning and highlights any inconsistencies or contradictions.

Guest contributions from other State aid experts will also be published on the blog at irregular intervals to complement the content of the blog posts.

Subscribe now!

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Services Inextricably Linked to the Functions of the State
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 87
Introduction  There are many cases where recipients of public subsidies perform non-economic activities and, therefore, those subsidies do not constitute state aid in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. By contrast, there are only a handful of cases where activities that are normally economic in nature become non-economic because they are inextricably linked to a function reserved for the state or the […]
read more
No Comments
9. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation to the Operator of a Canal Lock that Provides Free Services May Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 86
Introduction State aid rules are often perceived as straightjacket on Member State policies. Yet, the fundamental logic of the criteria used by the Commission and endorsed by EU courts to determine the compatibility of state aid force Member States to ask, at minimum, why they intervene, what is the most appropriate method of intervention and how much money is required […]
read more
No Comments
2. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Arbitration Decision that is Free of State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 82
Introduction Some cases seem to run forever. In 1960, Dimosia Epicheirisi Ilektrismou [DEI], the then sole supplier of electricity in Greece, entered into an agreement with Alouminion, an aluminium smelter, to provide electricity at preferential rates. The agreement expired in 2006. However, DEI and Alouminion, and its successor Mytilinaios and now Metlen, were not able to agree on a new […]
read more
No Comments
25. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Judicial Challenges to Recovery of Incompatible State Aid do not Prove that Recovery is Absolutely Impossible
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 81
Introduction Member States can, in theory, escape from the obligation to recover state aid that the Commission has found to be incompatible with the internal market if they can demonstrate that it is absolutely impossible. When they appear before the Court of Justice of the EU [CJEU] for failing to recover incompatible aid, they always claim but rarely succeed to […]
read more
No Comments
18. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support an Intermodal Terminal whose Development Had Already Started
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 78
Introduction State aid that is granted after the start of works lacks incentive effect and cannot be compatible with the internal market. However, state aid may enable the expansion of a project that has already started. The aid may be compatible if the expansion was not foreseen when the project was launched and if the subsidised costs are different from […]
read more
No Comments
10. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The First State Aid Measure Approved under CISAF: Lots of Presumptions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 77
Introduction This article reviews one of the first Commission decisions authorising state aid under the new Clean Industry State Aid Framework [CISAF]. It concerns an Italian measure that was originally notified to the Commission under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, but then re-notified in July 2025 under CISAF after CISAF was adopted by the Commission in June 2025. The […]
read more
No Comments
4. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Examine the Presence and Compatibility of Indirect State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 74
Introduction  The Commission, in its 2016 Notice on the Notion of State Aid, made an important distinction between “indirect” beneficiaries and “secondary” beneficiaries of state aid. All state aid measures have secondary effects for the simple reason that direct aid recipients do not function in isolation from the rest of the economy. When they spend the aid they receive, third […]
read more
No Comments
28. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Acts such as the Granting of Betting Rights May Not Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 73
Introduction Regulatory acts that confer a selective advantage without involving any transfer of state resources do not constitute State Aid. As is well established in the case law, Member States do not need to maximise revenue from granting licences, permits or authorisations when they act as regulators. Such licences, permits or authorisations may even be granted for free. Therefore, when […]
read more
No Comments
21. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid for Decarbonisation of Steel Works
State Aid Blogs - Your paragraph text 1
Introduction  The decarbonisation of industry receives the second largest amount of environmental aid after reduction of environmental and energy taxes. Across different industrial sectors, the decarbonisation of steel production has probably attracted the largest amount of aid.  Recently, Sweden notified an individual measure to support investment in decarbonisation at SSAB, a steel manufacturer. The measure was approved by the Commission […]
read more
No Comments
14. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation for the Net Extra Costs of Public Service Obligations
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 72
Introduction On 3 September 2025, the General Court, in its judgment in case T‑784/22, Zásilkovna v Commission, provided useful guidance on the calculation of the compensation for the extra costs incurred by providers of Services of General Economic Interest [SGEI].[1] Zásilkovna sought the annulment of Commission decision 2023/232 concerning State aid SA.55208 implemented by the Czech Republic for Czech Post. […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Services Inextricably Linked to the Functions of the State
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 87
Introduction  There are many cases where recipients of public subsidies perform non-economic activities and, therefore, those subsidies do not constitute state aid in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. By contrast, there are only a handful of cases where activities that are normally economic in nature become non-economic because they are inextricably linked to a function reserved for the state or the […]
read more
No Comments
9. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation to the Operator of a Canal Lock that Provides Free Services May Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 86
Introduction State aid rules are often perceived as straightjacket on Member State policies. Yet, the fundamental logic of the criteria used by the Commission and endorsed by EU courts to determine the compatibility of state aid force Member States to ask, at minimum, why they intervene, what is the most appropriate method of intervention and how much money is required […]
read more
No Comments
2. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Arbitration Decision that is Free of State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 82
Introduction Some cases seem to run forever. In 1960, Dimosia Epicheirisi Ilektrismou [DEI], the then sole supplier of electricity in Greece, entered into an agreement with Alouminion, an aluminium smelter, to provide electricity at preferential rates. The agreement expired in 2006. However, DEI and Alouminion, and its successor Mytilinaios and now Metlen, were not able to agree on a new […]
read more
No Comments
25. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Judicial Challenges to Recovery of Incompatible State Aid do not Prove that Recovery is Absolutely Impossible
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 81
Introduction Member States can, in theory, escape from the obligation to recover state aid that the Commission has found to be incompatible with the internal market if they can demonstrate that it is absolutely impossible. When they appear before the Court of Justice of the EU [CJEU] for failing to recover incompatible aid, they always claim but rarely succeed to […]
read more
No Comments
18. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support an Intermodal Terminal whose Development Had Already Started
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 78
Introduction State aid that is granted after the start of works lacks incentive effect and cannot be compatible with the internal market. However, state aid may enable the expansion of a project that has already started. The aid may be compatible if the expansion was not foreseen when the project was launched and if the subsidised costs are different from […]
read more
No Comments
10. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The First State Aid Measure Approved under CISAF: Lots of Presumptions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 77
Introduction This article reviews one of the first Commission decisions authorising state aid under the new Clean Industry State Aid Framework [CISAF]. It concerns an Italian measure that was originally notified to the Commission under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, but then re-notified in July 2025 under CISAF after CISAF was adopted by the Commission in June 2025. The […]
read more
No Comments
4. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Examine the Presence and Compatibility of Indirect State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 74
Introduction  The Commission, in its 2016 Notice on the Notion of State Aid, made an important distinction between “indirect” beneficiaries and “secondary” beneficiaries of state aid. All state aid measures have secondary effects for the simple reason that direct aid recipients do not function in isolation from the rest of the economy. When they spend the aid they receive, third […]
read more
No Comments
28. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Acts such as the Granting of Betting Rights May Not Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 73
Introduction Regulatory acts that confer a selective advantage without involving any transfer of state resources do not constitute State Aid. As is well established in the case law, Member States do not need to maximise revenue from granting licences, permits or authorisations when they act as regulators. Such licences, permits or authorisations may even be granted for free. Therefore, when […]
read more
No Comments
21. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid for Decarbonisation of Steel Works
State Aid Blogs - Your paragraph text 1
Introduction  The decarbonisation of industry receives the second largest amount of environmental aid after reduction of environmental and energy taxes. Across different industrial sectors, the decarbonisation of steel production has probably attracted the largest amount of aid.  Recently, Sweden notified an individual measure to support investment in decarbonisation at SSAB, a steel manufacturer. The measure was approved by the Commission […]
read more
No Comments
14. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation for the Net Extra Costs of Public Service Obligations
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 72
Introduction On 3 September 2025, the General Court, in its judgment in case T‑784/22, Zásilkovna v Commission, provided useful guidance on the calculation of the compensation for the extra costs incurred by providers of Services of General Economic Interest [SGEI].[1] Zásilkovna sought the annulment of Commission decision 2023/232 concerning State aid SA.55208 implemented by the Czech Republic for Czech Post. […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Services Inextricably Linked to the Functions of the State
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 87
Introduction  There are many cases where recipients of public subsidies perform non-economic activities and, therefore, those subsidies do not constitute state aid in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. By contrast, there are only a handful of cases where activities that are normally economic in nature become non-economic because they are inextricably linked to a function reserved for the state or the […]
read more
No Comments
9. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation to the Operator of a Canal Lock that Provides Free Services May Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 86
Introduction State aid rules are often perceived as straightjacket on Member State policies. Yet, the fundamental logic of the criteria used by the Commission and endorsed by EU courts to determine the compatibility of state aid force Member States to ask, at minimum, why they intervene, what is the most appropriate method of intervention and how much money is required […]
read more
No Comments
2. December 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Arbitration Decision that is Free of State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 82
Introduction Some cases seem to run forever. In 1960, Dimosia Epicheirisi Ilektrismou [DEI], the then sole supplier of electricity in Greece, entered into an agreement with Alouminion, an aluminium smelter, to provide electricity at preferential rates. The agreement expired in 2006. However, DEI and Alouminion, and its successor Mytilinaios and now Metlen, were not able to agree on a new […]
read more
No Comments
25. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Judicial Challenges to Recovery of Incompatible State Aid do not Prove that Recovery is Absolutely Impossible
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 81
Introduction Member States can, in theory, escape from the obligation to recover state aid that the Commission has found to be incompatible with the internal market if they can demonstrate that it is absolutely impossible. When they appear before the Court of Justice of the EU [CJEU] for failing to recover incompatible aid, they always claim but rarely succeed to […]
read more
No Comments
18. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support an Intermodal Terminal whose Development Had Already Started
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 78
Introduction State aid that is granted after the start of works lacks incentive effect and cannot be compatible with the internal market. However, state aid may enable the expansion of a project that has already started. The aid may be compatible if the expansion was not foreseen when the project was launched and if the subsidised costs are different from […]
read more
No Comments
10. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The First State Aid Measure Approved under CISAF: Lots of Presumptions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 77
Introduction This article reviews one of the first Commission decisions authorising state aid under the new Clean Industry State Aid Framework [CISAF]. It concerns an Italian measure that was originally notified to the Commission under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, but then re-notified in July 2025 under CISAF after CISAF was adopted by the Commission in June 2025. The […]
read more
No Comments
4. November 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Examine the Presence and Compatibility of Indirect State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 74
Introduction  The Commission, in its 2016 Notice on the Notion of State Aid, made an important distinction between “indirect” beneficiaries and “secondary” beneficiaries of state aid. All state aid measures have secondary effects for the simple reason that direct aid recipients do not function in isolation from the rest of the economy. When they spend the aid they receive, third […]
read more
No Comments
28. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Acts such as the Granting of Betting Rights May Not Constitute State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 73
Introduction Regulatory acts that confer a selective advantage without involving any transfer of state resources do not constitute State Aid. As is well established in the case law, Member States do not need to maximise revenue from granting licences, permits or authorisations when they act as regulators. Such licences, permits or authorisations may even be granted for free. Therefore, when […]
read more
No Comments
21. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid for Decarbonisation of Steel Works
State Aid Blogs - Your paragraph text 1
Introduction  The decarbonisation of industry receives the second largest amount of environmental aid after reduction of environmental and energy taxes. Across different industrial sectors, the decarbonisation of steel production has probably attracted the largest amount of aid.  Recently, Sweden notified an individual measure to support investment in decarbonisation at SSAB, a steel manufacturer. The measure was approved by the Commission […]
read more
No Comments
14. October 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation for the Net Extra Costs of Public Service Obligations
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 72
Introduction On 3 September 2025, the General Court, in its judgment in case T‑784/22, Zásilkovna v Commission, provided useful guidance on the calculation of the compensation for the extra costs incurred by providers of Services of General Economic Interest [SGEI].[1] Zásilkovna sought the annulment of Commission decision 2023/232 concerning State aid SA.55208 implemented by the Czech Republic for Czech Post. […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on legal developments, upcoming conferences, workshops, and publications in your areas of interest.

Newsletter: Subscribe now