State Aid Law Blog

State Aid Uncovered Blog

On a weekly basis Phedon Nicolaides posts critical analysis pieces on the latest State aid judgments and decisions on his blog State Aid Uncovered. Each article presents the main points of a court ruling or Commission‘s decision, places them in the context of similar case law or practice, assesses the underlying reasoning, and identifies any inconsistencies or contradictions.
Occasional guest blog posts by other State aid experts complement the State aid knowledge hub.

Join the debate now!

Professor at Maastricht University; Professor at University of Nicosia, and Academic Director at Lexxion Training

- Article 107(3) ×

Restructuring Aid Approved on Condition that the Beneficiary Is Sold to Highest Bidder

The Commission has wide discretion in assessing the compatibility of State aid with the internal market. Each case is assessed on its own merits and, therefore, the Commission is not bound by precedents or decisions on previous cases. Sale of shares held by public authorities may be required if divestment is necessary for long-term viability of aid beneficiary. Introduction   […]

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure

Introduction   The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]

How to Use Economic Tools to Ensure the Proportionality of Aid (Commission Decision SA.34938 on a gas storage facility in Poland)

Introduction Normally, economic analysis is used by the Commission to find out whether a measure confers an abnormal advantage to an undertaking. This would be the case, for example, when a public authority makes an investment that generates a return that falls below what the market would demand. The recipient undertaking derives an abnormal advantage [i.e. an advantage that would […]

- Article 107(3) ×

Restructuring Aid Approved on Condition that the Beneficiary Is Sold to Highest Bidder

The Commission has wide discretion in assessing the compatibility of State aid with the internal market. Each case is assessed on its own merits and, therefore, the Commission is not bound by precedents or decisions on previous cases. Sale of shares held by public authorities may be required if divestment is necessary for long-term viability of aid beneficiary. Introduction   […]

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure

Introduction   The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]

How to Use Economic Tools to Ensure the Proportionality of Aid (Commission Decision SA.34938 on a gas storage facility in Poland)

Introduction Normally, economic analysis is used by the Commission to find out whether a measure confers an abnormal advantage to an undertaking. This would be the case, for example, when a public authority makes an investment that generates a return that falls below what the market would demand. The recipient undertaking derives an abnormal advantage [i.e. an advantage that would […]

- Article 107(3) ×

Restructuring Aid Approved on Condition that the Beneficiary Is Sold to Highest Bidder

The Commission has wide discretion in assessing the compatibility of State aid with the internal market. Each case is assessed on its own merits and, therefore, the Commission is not bound by precedents or decisions on previous cases. Sale of shares held by public authorities may be required if divestment is necessary for long-term viability of aid beneficiary. Introduction   […]

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure

Introduction   The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]

How to Use Economic Tools to Ensure the Proportionality of Aid (Commission Decision SA.34938 on a gas storage facility in Poland)

Introduction Normally, economic analysis is used by the Commission to find out whether a measure confers an abnormal advantage to an undertaking. This would be the case, for example, when a public authority makes an investment that generates a return that falls below what the market would demand. The recipient undertaking derives an abnormal advantage [i.e. an advantage that would […]

How to Submit a Blog Post

Do you want to share your analysis of a State aid law topic? We invite you to submit your post on, for example: recent European, national or international judgments or legislation with relevance to EU State aid law; new developments, publications, hot topics in EU State aid law. The recommended length of the post is 500-2,000 words incl. references (endnotes). Your analysis will be published under the category ‘Guest State Aid Blog’.

Here’s how you can publish a post on the Blog as a guest author:

Step 1: Submit your draft to Nelly Stratieva at stratieva@lexxion.eu.

Step 2: We at Lexxion will review your draft to make sure its content and quality fit the blog. If needed, they will suggest what improvements you should make.

Step 3: Once your draft has been finalised and accepted, we will publish your post.

Submit your guest blog post

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