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

- court of justice ×

Market Economy Operator Principle: The Case of FIH

Negotiated transactions are not necessarily market conform. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 9 October 2020: 295* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 32; Article 107(3)(b): 248; Article 107(3)(c): 23 – Average number of measures per Member State: 10.5 – Median number of measures per Member State: 12 – Mode number of measures per Member […]

Non-recovery of Incompatible State aid Is Costly

Legal and practical difficulties in the recovery of incompatible State aid do not constitute justifiable “absolute impossibility”. Temporary Framework On 1 May, the total number of State aid measures to combat covid-19 approved by the European Commission reached 102. Their legal basis was: Article 107(2)(b): 9; Article 107(3)(b): 86; Article 107(3)(c): 7   Introduction The 2020 Temporary Framework for State […]

A Preferential Electricity Tariff Is Selective, Confers an Advantage and Distorts Competition

A judicial decision on interim measures is a selective measure. The private investor test does not apply to judicial decisions on interim measures. Introduction On 11 December 2019, in case C‑332/18 P, Mytilinaios Anonymos Etairia — Omilos Epicheiriseon v European Commission, the Court of Justice probably wrote the last chapter in a long-running case concerning privileges that had been granted […]

Can a Tax (rather than a Tax Exemption) Confer a Selective Advantage?

A tax that is levied at one level of government and does not apply to products and activities at a different level of government need not be selective. Introduction A tax exemption normally confers a selective advantage, unless it is justified by the logic of the tax. Counterintuitively, a tax itself can be selectively advantageous if its scope is too […]

Separability of Economic from Non-economic Activities

Activities which are inseparable from the exercise of official powers are non-economic. Introduction   Pure research whose results are widely disseminated is undoubtedly a non-economic activity. Research reports are often published on the internet. But the design and management of a research organisation’s website can be an economic activity. Plenty of private companies provide these services for a fee. Does […]

Investor Protection and Existing Aid

Aid granted before accession to the EU may not be assessed by the Commission. Introduction It is fairly safe to say that in the sixty years of case law on State aid, the Court of Justice has ruled that there are just four instances in which payment of public money to an undertaking does not constitute State aid on the […]

Burden-Sharing and State Aid to Banks

Creditors must contribute to the recovery of banks before State aid is granted. Burden-sharing by creditors in the recovery of banks does not deprive them of their right to property.   Introduction On 19 July 2016, the Court of Justice rendered its judgment in case C‑526/14, Tadej Kotnik and others v Državni zbor Republike Slovenije.[1] The judgment was in response to a […]

Compensatory Payments Can still Confer an Advantage

Membership of a compulsory insurance scheme can still confer an advantage to participating undertakings. Private contributions can still become state resources if they are paid into a fund that is managed by the state. Member States always have the option to ask for a measure to be assessed directly on the basis of the Treaty but they have to justify […]

Court’s Diary – February 2016

Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us (stateaidhub@lexxion.eu), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog   Thursday 04/02/2016 Judgment in Case T-287/11 – Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth Chamber) Judgment in […]

Levying of Charges to Maintain Equal Treatment Is Not Necessarily Selective

The standard of proof of whether a measure is selective depends on whether that measure is a scheme or a grant of individual aid. Measures providing for exemption are by definition selective. Measures that impose additional charges for the purpose of maintaining equality between operators are not necessarily selective even if the responsible authorities retain a degree of discretion in […]

- court of justice ×

Market Economy Operator Principle: The Case of FIH

Negotiated transactions are not necessarily market conform. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 9 October 2020: 295* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 32; Article 107(3)(b): 248; Article 107(3)(c): 23 – Average number of measures per Member State: 10.5 – Median number of measures per Member State: 12 – Mode number of measures per Member […]

Non-recovery of Incompatible State aid Is Costly

Legal and practical difficulties in the recovery of incompatible State aid do not constitute justifiable “absolute impossibility”. Temporary Framework On 1 May, the total number of State aid measures to combat covid-19 approved by the European Commission reached 102. Their legal basis was: Article 107(2)(b): 9; Article 107(3)(b): 86; Article 107(3)(c): 7   Introduction The 2020 Temporary Framework for State […]

A Preferential Electricity Tariff Is Selective, Confers an Advantage and Distorts Competition

A judicial decision on interim measures is a selective measure. The private investor test does not apply to judicial decisions on interim measures. Introduction On 11 December 2019, in case C‑332/18 P, Mytilinaios Anonymos Etairia — Omilos Epicheiriseon v European Commission, the Court of Justice probably wrote the last chapter in a long-running case concerning privileges that had been granted […]

Can a Tax (rather than a Tax Exemption) Confer a Selective Advantage?

A tax that is levied at one level of government and does not apply to products and activities at a different level of government need not be selective. Introduction A tax exemption normally confers a selective advantage, unless it is justified by the logic of the tax. Counterintuitively, a tax itself can be selectively advantageous if its scope is too […]

Separability of Economic from Non-economic Activities

Activities which are inseparable from the exercise of official powers are non-economic. Introduction   Pure research whose results are widely disseminated is undoubtedly a non-economic activity. Research reports are often published on the internet. But the design and management of a research organisation’s website can be an economic activity. Plenty of private companies provide these services for a fee. Does […]

Investor Protection and Existing Aid

Aid granted before accession to the EU may not be assessed by the Commission. Introduction It is fairly safe to say that in the sixty years of case law on State aid, the Court of Justice has ruled that there are just four instances in which payment of public money to an undertaking does not constitute State aid on the […]

Burden-Sharing and State Aid to Banks

Creditors must contribute to the recovery of banks before State aid is granted. Burden-sharing by creditors in the recovery of banks does not deprive them of their right to property.   Introduction On 19 July 2016, the Court of Justice rendered its judgment in case C‑526/14, Tadej Kotnik and others v Državni zbor Republike Slovenije.[1] The judgment was in response to a […]

Compensatory Payments Can still Confer an Advantage

Membership of a compulsory insurance scheme can still confer an advantage to participating undertakings. Private contributions can still become state resources if they are paid into a fund that is managed by the state. Member States always have the option to ask for a measure to be assessed directly on the basis of the Treaty but they have to justify […]

Court’s Diary – February 2016

Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us (stateaidhub@lexxion.eu), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog   Thursday 04/02/2016 Judgment in Case T-287/11 – Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth Chamber) Judgment in […]

Levying of Charges to Maintain Equal Treatment Is Not Necessarily Selective

The standard of proof of whether a measure is selective depends on whether that measure is a scheme or a grant of individual aid. Measures providing for exemption are by definition selective. Measures that impose additional charges for the purpose of maintaining equality between operators are not necessarily selective even if the responsible authorities retain a degree of discretion in […]

- court of justice ×

Market Economy Operator Principle: The Case of FIH

Negotiated transactions are not necessarily market conform. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 9 October 2020: 295* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 32; Article 107(3)(b): 248; Article 107(3)(c): 23 – Average number of measures per Member State: 10.5 – Median number of measures per Member State: 12 – Mode number of measures per Member […]

Non-recovery of Incompatible State aid Is Costly

Legal and practical difficulties in the recovery of incompatible State aid do not constitute justifiable “absolute impossibility”. Temporary Framework On 1 May, the total number of State aid measures to combat covid-19 approved by the European Commission reached 102. Their legal basis was: Article 107(2)(b): 9; Article 107(3)(b): 86; Article 107(3)(c): 7   Introduction The 2020 Temporary Framework for State […]

A Preferential Electricity Tariff Is Selective, Confers an Advantage and Distorts Competition

A judicial decision on interim measures is a selective measure. The private investor test does not apply to judicial decisions on interim measures. Introduction On 11 December 2019, in case C‑332/18 P, Mytilinaios Anonymos Etairia — Omilos Epicheiriseon v European Commission, the Court of Justice probably wrote the last chapter in a long-running case concerning privileges that had been granted […]

Can a Tax (rather than a Tax Exemption) Confer a Selective Advantage?

A tax that is levied at one level of government and does not apply to products and activities at a different level of government need not be selective. Introduction A tax exemption normally confers a selective advantage, unless it is justified by the logic of the tax. Counterintuitively, a tax itself can be selectively advantageous if its scope is too […]

Separability of Economic from Non-economic Activities

Activities which are inseparable from the exercise of official powers are non-economic. Introduction   Pure research whose results are widely disseminated is undoubtedly a non-economic activity. Research reports are often published on the internet. But the design and management of a research organisation’s website can be an economic activity. Plenty of private companies provide these services for a fee. Does […]

Investor Protection and Existing Aid

Aid granted before accession to the EU may not be assessed by the Commission. Introduction It is fairly safe to say that in the sixty years of case law on State aid, the Court of Justice has ruled that there are just four instances in which payment of public money to an undertaking does not constitute State aid on the […]

Burden-Sharing and State Aid to Banks

Creditors must contribute to the recovery of banks before State aid is granted. Burden-sharing by creditors in the recovery of banks does not deprive them of their right to property.   Introduction On 19 July 2016, the Court of Justice rendered its judgment in case C‑526/14, Tadej Kotnik and others v Državni zbor Republike Slovenije.[1] The judgment was in response to a […]

Compensatory Payments Can still Confer an Advantage

Membership of a compulsory insurance scheme can still confer an advantage to participating undertakings. Private contributions can still become state resources if they are paid into a fund that is managed by the state. Member States always have the option to ask for a measure to be assessed directly on the basis of the Treaty but they have to justify […]

Court’s Diary – February 2016

Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us (stateaidhub@lexxion.eu), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog   Thursday 04/02/2016 Judgment in Case T-287/11 – Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth Chamber) Judgment in […]

Levying of Charges to Maintain Equal Treatment Is Not Necessarily Selective

The standard of proof of whether a measure is selective depends on whether that measure is a scheme or a grant of individual aid. Measures providing for exemption are by definition selective. Measures that impose additional charges for the purpose of maintaining equality between operators are not necessarily selective even if the responsible authorities retain a degree of discretion in […]

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

Subscribe to our newsletter to be regularly informed about our upcoming conferences, Lexxion Trainings, on-the-spot workshops and updates on Lexxion’s publications.

Don’t miss the news by signing up for our free newsletters. Sign up now!