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.

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- General Court Economic Activities ×

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 […]

The Date and Scope of Public Service Compensation

Aid is deemed to be granted on the date the beneficiary undertaking acquires the legal right to it, regardless of whether it is actually paid on that date. It is not enough for a public authority to define the service that it wants an operator to provide and the price that it should charge. It must also define where and […]

Legal Standing of Investors in Failed Banks

Investors that lodge claims before national courts for damages from resolution of banks have legal standing to request annulment of Commission decisions authorising State aid to those banks. Introduction It is now ten years since the start of the financial crisis. In these ten years, the Commission has adopted about 500 decisions dealing with State aid to banks and other […]

Unconditional and Unlimited Guarantees and their (In)Compatibility with the Internal Market

Operating aid is not normally compatible with the internal market. Therefore, State aid provided through state guarantees should not cover operating costs. State aid embedded in guarantees must be quantifiable so that its necessity and proportionality can be assessed. The assessment of State aid must be made within an EU context taking into account its impact on trade.   Introduction […]

Unlimited State Guarantees

Unlimited state guarantees create a presumption that the recipient of the guarantee obtains an advantage in the form of cheaper credit. Any advantage in the form of lower risk in transactions with suppliers or clients has to be proven.   Introduction State guarantees must be limited in time and amount and may cover only a specified event. Unlimited and general […]

The Compatibility of State Aid Depends on the Rules which are Applicable at the Time the Aid is Granted

Failure to comply with just a single provision of an exemption regulation results in the non-applicability of the whole regulation and makes any implemented aid measure automatically illegal. The compatibility of aid measures adopted in the past but continuing having effects are assessed not on the basis of old rules but on the basis of the rules which are applicable […]

The Extent of the Discretion of Member States to Define Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)

A service is classified as an SGEI not only when it is important for citizens but also when the market does not adequately supply it and one or more undertakings are compelled to provide it to specified consumers, in specified areas and on specified terms.   Introduction   The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the case law […]

Private Creditor v Private Investor

A private investor never agrees to an unprofitable transaction while a private creditor may agree to a loss in order to avoid a bigger loss from non-recovery of debt owed to it. A public authority acting as a private operator must disregard any losses it may incur from State aid it granted in the past.   Introduction   A question […]

Economic Activities in a System of Social Solidarity

Entities that pursue profit must be classified as undertakings.   Introduction   On 5 February 2018, the General Court annulled Commission decision 2015/248 concerning health insurance in Slovakia [see judgment in case T‑216/15, Dôvera zdravotná poist’ovňa et al v European Commission].[1] The Commission decision was reviewed here on 10 March 2015.(View article at http://stateaidhub.eu/blogs/stateaiduncovered/post/1707.)The Commission had concluded that the providers of health […]

The Legal Basis of the (In)compatibility of Aid Must be Clear

The European Commission may withdraw a decision, but before it adopts a new decision it must give an opportunity to interested parties to submit their comments, especially, if it changes the legal basis of the assessment of the compatibility of the aid.   Introduction The most frequent reasons for which the Commission finds aid to be incompatible with the internal […]

- General Court Economic Activities ×

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 […]

The Date and Scope of Public Service Compensation

Aid is deemed to be granted on the date the beneficiary undertaking acquires the legal right to it, regardless of whether it is actually paid on that date. It is not enough for a public authority to define the service that it wants an operator to provide and the price that it should charge. It must also define where and […]

Legal Standing of Investors in Failed Banks

Investors that lodge claims before national courts for damages from resolution of banks have legal standing to request annulment of Commission decisions authorising State aid to those banks. Introduction It is now ten years since the start of the financial crisis. In these ten years, the Commission has adopted about 500 decisions dealing with State aid to banks and other […]

Unconditional and Unlimited Guarantees and their (In)Compatibility with the Internal Market

Operating aid is not normally compatible with the internal market. Therefore, State aid provided through state guarantees should not cover operating costs. State aid embedded in guarantees must be quantifiable so that its necessity and proportionality can be assessed. The assessment of State aid must be made within an EU context taking into account its impact on trade.   Introduction […]

Unlimited State Guarantees

Unlimited state guarantees create a presumption that the recipient of the guarantee obtains an advantage in the form of cheaper credit. Any advantage in the form of lower risk in transactions with suppliers or clients has to be proven.   Introduction State guarantees must be limited in time and amount and may cover only a specified event. Unlimited and general […]

The Compatibility of State Aid Depends on the Rules which are Applicable at the Time the Aid is Granted

Failure to comply with just a single provision of an exemption regulation results in the non-applicability of the whole regulation and makes any implemented aid measure automatically illegal. The compatibility of aid measures adopted in the past but continuing having effects are assessed not on the basis of old rules but on the basis of the rules which are applicable […]

The Extent of the Discretion of Member States to Define Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)

A service is classified as an SGEI not only when it is important for citizens but also when the market does not adequately supply it and one or more undertakings are compelled to provide it to specified consumers, in specified areas and on specified terms.   Introduction   The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the case law […]

Private Creditor v Private Investor

A private investor never agrees to an unprofitable transaction while a private creditor may agree to a loss in order to avoid a bigger loss from non-recovery of debt owed to it. A public authority acting as a private operator must disregard any losses it may incur from State aid it granted in the past.   Introduction   A question […]

Economic Activities in a System of Social Solidarity

Entities that pursue profit must be classified as undertakings.   Introduction   On 5 February 2018, the General Court annulled Commission decision 2015/248 concerning health insurance in Slovakia [see judgment in case T‑216/15, Dôvera zdravotná poist’ovňa et al v European Commission].[1] The Commission decision was reviewed here on 10 March 2015.(View article at http://stateaidhub.eu/blogs/stateaiduncovered/post/1707.)The Commission had concluded that the providers of health […]

The Legal Basis of the (In)compatibility of Aid Must be Clear

The European Commission may withdraw a decision, but before it adopts a new decision it must give an opportunity to interested parties to submit their comments, especially, if it changes the legal basis of the assessment of the compatibility of the aid.   Introduction The most frequent reasons for which the Commission finds aid to be incompatible with the internal […]

- General Court Economic Activities ×

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 […]

The Date and Scope of Public Service Compensation

Aid is deemed to be granted on the date the beneficiary undertaking acquires the legal right to it, regardless of whether it is actually paid on that date. It is not enough for a public authority to define the service that it wants an operator to provide and the price that it should charge. It must also define where and […]

Legal Standing of Investors in Failed Banks

Investors that lodge claims before national courts for damages from resolution of banks have legal standing to request annulment of Commission decisions authorising State aid to those banks. Introduction It is now ten years since the start of the financial crisis. In these ten years, the Commission has adopted about 500 decisions dealing with State aid to banks and other […]

Unconditional and Unlimited Guarantees and their (In)Compatibility with the Internal Market

Operating aid is not normally compatible with the internal market. Therefore, State aid provided through state guarantees should not cover operating costs. State aid embedded in guarantees must be quantifiable so that its necessity and proportionality can be assessed. The assessment of State aid must be made within an EU context taking into account its impact on trade.   Introduction […]

Unlimited State Guarantees

Unlimited state guarantees create a presumption that the recipient of the guarantee obtains an advantage in the form of cheaper credit. Any advantage in the form of lower risk in transactions with suppliers or clients has to be proven.   Introduction State guarantees must be limited in time and amount and may cover only a specified event. Unlimited and general […]

The Compatibility of State Aid Depends on the Rules which are Applicable at the Time the Aid is Granted

Failure to comply with just a single provision of an exemption regulation results in the non-applicability of the whole regulation and makes any implemented aid measure automatically illegal. The compatibility of aid measures adopted in the past but continuing having effects are assessed not on the basis of old rules but on the basis of the rules which are applicable […]

The Extent of the Discretion of Member States to Define Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)

A service is classified as an SGEI not only when it is important for citizens but also when the market does not adequately supply it and one or more undertakings are compelled to provide it to specified consumers, in specified areas and on specified terms.   Introduction   The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the case law […]

Private Creditor v Private Investor

A private investor never agrees to an unprofitable transaction while a private creditor may agree to a loss in order to avoid a bigger loss from non-recovery of debt owed to it. A public authority acting as a private operator must disregard any losses it may incur from State aid it granted in the past.   Introduction   A question […]

Economic Activities in a System of Social Solidarity

Entities that pursue profit must be classified as undertakings.   Introduction   On 5 February 2018, the General Court annulled Commission decision 2015/248 concerning health insurance in Slovakia [see judgment in case T‑216/15, Dôvera zdravotná poist’ovňa et al v European Commission].[1] The Commission decision was reviewed here on 10 March 2015.(View article at http://stateaidhub.eu/blogs/stateaiduncovered/post/1707.)The Commission had concluded that the providers of health […]

The Legal Basis of the (In)compatibility of Aid Must be Clear

The European Commission may withdraw a decision, but before it adopts a new decision it must give an opportunity to interested parties to submit their comments, especially, if it changes the legal basis of the assessment of the compatibility of the aid.   Introduction The most frequent reasons for which the Commission finds aid to be incompatible with the internal […]

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