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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- State Resources ×

15. April 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Regulation v Exploitation of a State Asset
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 46
Introduction State assets which are put at the disposal of undertakings must be made available at a market rate. Free use or use at a price below the market rate means that the state forfeits potential revenue that constitutes transfer of state resources. If all the other criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU are satisfied, the free or preferential use of […]
read more
No Comments
17. December 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Does the State not Control the Resources whose Use Is Defined by Law?
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 26
Introduction Germany has been very creative in devising measures of support of renewable sources of energy that do not constitute State aid [see the landmark judgments in PreussenElektra, EEG2012, etc]. The decisive element in those measures was the absence of state resources. In January of this year, Germany succeeded to persuade the General Court that a new measure was also […]
read more
No Comments
15. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Revenue from a Compulsory Charge Is a State Resource
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 14
Introduction On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice [CJEU] delivered four judgments in four related cases: C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission C-794/21 P, Germany v Commission C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte v Commission All cases concerned appeals against the corresponding judgments of the General Court by which it dismissed the actions for annulment of […]
read more
No Comments
30. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor – Part II
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 9
Part II: Advantage The Commission, first, explained that the “(80) intervention must be considered as a whole, considering the purpose and timing of the various stages in which AMCO’s intervention is to be made, within the context and contents of the second arrangement proposal. Whether or not a transaction is in line with market conditions must be established through a […]
read more
No Comments
27. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 8
Introduction When a party to a financial transaction is a company that is owned and controlled by the state, it is difficult to determine whether the transaction is free of State aid. This is because it is not easy to prove that the state had no influence over the decision of the company to carry out that transaction. The Commission […]
read more
No Comments
6. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Existence of State Aid Must Be Proven on the Basis of Credible Evidence
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 5
Introduction This article reviews two cases in which courts found that it had not been proven that all of the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU had been satisfied. Case I: Not being able to prove that the measure is attributed to a decision of the state With decision 2024/2033, published in OJ L, 29 July 2024, the Commission corrected its […]
read more
No Comments
2. July 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Green Energy Certificates
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 3
Introduction Certificates that confirm that an undertaking has bought a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources do not normally involve State aid because they are not traded. However, when they are tradeable and are granted by a public authority for free or for a fee that falls below their market value, they normally involve State aid as they confer […]
read more
No Comments
13. February 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources, Control and Imputability
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 1
Introduction A public measure can be classified as State aid only when it is funded from state resources. Measures funded from the budgets of public authorities are always considered to be supported by state resources. However, measures not funded from state budgets may still be supported by state resources. This is because, rather counterintuitively, the concept of state resources covers […]
read more
No Comments
20. June 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Measures Are not State aid & Trade Unions Are not “Interested Party”
State Aid Blogs - Untitled design 3
Introduction This article reviews two recent judgments dealing with the concept of state resources and the meaning of “interested party”, respectively. State resources On 8 June 2023, the Court of Justice clarified, by its judgment in case C-50/21, Prestige and Limousine SL, that purely regulatory measures may confer and advantage without, however, granting State aid.1 The Court was responding to […]
read more
No Comments
24. January 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources Include all the Resources that Can be Directed by the State for its own Purposes
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 40
Introduction On 12 January 2023, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in joined cases C-702/20, DOBELES HES and C-17/21, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija.[1] A Latvian court requested the Court of Justice to provide a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU, Article 108(3) TFEU, Regulation 1407/2013 on de minimis aid and of the procedural Regulation 2015/1589. The […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

- State Resources ×

15. April 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Regulation v Exploitation of a State Asset
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 46
Introduction State assets which are put at the disposal of undertakings must be made available at a market rate. Free use or use at a price below the market rate means that the state forfeits potential revenue that constitutes transfer of state resources. If all the other criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU are satisfied, the free or preferential use of […]
read more
No Comments
17. December 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Does the State not Control the Resources whose Use Is Defined by Law?
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 26
Introduction Germany has been very creative in devising measures of support of renewable sources of energy that do not constitute State aid [see the landmark judgments in PreussenElektra, EEG2012, etc]. The decisive element in those measures was the absence of state resources. In January of this year, Germany succeeded to persuade the General Court that a new measure was also […]
read more
No Comments
15. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Revenue from a Compulsory Charge Is a State Resource
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 14
Introduction On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice [CJEU] delivered four judgments in four related cases: C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission C-794/21 P, Germany v Commission C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte v Commission All cases concerned appeals against the corresponding judgments of the General Court by which it dismissed the actions for annulment of […]
read more
No Comments
30. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor – Part II
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 9
Part II: Advantage The Commission, first, explained that the “(80) intervention must be considered as a whole, considering the purpose and timing of the various stages in which AMCO’s intervention is to be made, within the context and contents of the second arrangement proposal. Whether or not a transaction is in line with market conditions must be established through a […]
read more
No Comments
27. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 8
Introduction When a party to a financial transaction is a company that is owned and controlled by the state, it is difficult to determine whether the transaction is free of State aid. This is because it is not easy to prove that the state had no influence over the decision of the company to carry out that transaction. The Commission […]
read more
No Comments
6. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Existence of State Aid Must Be Proven on the Basis of Credible Evidence
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 5
Introduction This article reviews two cases in which courts found that it had not been proven that all of the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU had been satisfied. Case I: Not being able to prove that the measure is attributed to a decision of the state With decision 2024/2033, published in OJ L, 29 July 2024, the Commission corrected its […]
read more
No Comments
2. July 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Green Energy Certificates
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 3
Introduction Certificates that confirm that an undertaking has bought a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources do not normally involve State aid because they are not traded. However, when they are tradeable and are granted by a public authority for free or for a fee that falls below their market value, they normally involve State aid as they confer […]
read more
No Comments
13. February 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources, Control and Imputability
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 1
Introduction A public measure can be classified as State aid only when it is funded from state resources. Measures funded from the budgets of public authorities are always considered to be supported by state resources. However, measures not funded from state budgets may still be supported by state resources. This is because, rather counterintuitively, the concept of state resources covers […]
read more
No Comments
20. June 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Measures Are not State aid & Trade Unions Are not “Interested Party”
State Aid Blogs - Untitled design 3
Introduction This article reviews two recent judgments dealing with the concept of state resources and the meaning of “interested party”, respectively. State resources On 8 June 2023, the Court of Justice clarified, by its judgment in case C-50/21, Prestige and Limousine SL, that purely regulatory measures may confer and advantage without, however, granting State aid.1 The Court was responding to […]
read more
No Comments
24. January 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources Include all the Resources that Can be Directed by the State for its own Purposes
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 40
Introduction On 12 January 2023, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in joined cases C-702/20, DOBELES HES and C-17/21, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija.[1] A Latvian court requested the Court of Justice to provide a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU, Article 108(3) TFEU, Regulation 1407/2013 on de minimis aid and of the procedural Regulation 2015/1589. The […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

- State Resources ×

15. April 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Regulation v Exploitation of a State Asset
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 46
Introduction State assets which are put at the disposal of undertakings must be made available at a market rate. Free use or use at a price below the market rate means that the state forfeits potential revenue that constitutes transfer of state resources. If all the other criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU are satisfied, the free or preferential use of […]
read more
No Comments
17. December 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Does the State not Control the Resources whose Use Is Defined by Law?
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 26
Introduction Germany has been very creative in devising measures of support of renewable sources of energy that do not constitute State aid [see the landmark judgments in PreussenElektra, EEG2012, etc]. The decisive element in those measures was the absence of state resources. In January of this year, Germany succeeded to persuade the General Court that a new measure was also […]
read more
No Comments
15. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Revenue from a Compulsory Charge Is a State Resource
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 14
Introduction On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice [CJEU] delivered four judgments in four related cases: C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission C-794/21 P, Germany v Commission C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte v Commission All cases concerned appeals against the corresponding judgments of the General Court by which it dismissed the actions for annulment of […]
read more
No Comments
30. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor – Part II
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 9
Part II: Advantage The Commission, first, explained that the “(80) intervention must be considered as a whole, considering the purpose and timing of the various stages in which AMCO’s intervention is to be made, within the context and contents of the second arrangement proposal. Whether or not a transaction is in line with market conditions must be established through a […]
read more
No Comments
27. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A State-Owned Company Acts as a Private Investor
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 8
Introduction When a party to a financial transaction is a company that is owned and controlled by the state, it is difficult to determine whether the transaction is free of State aid. This is because it is not easy to prove that the state had no influence over the decision of the company to carry out that transaction. The Commission […]
read more
No Comments
6. August 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Existence of State Aid Must Be Proven on the Basis of Credible Evidence
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 5
Introduction This article reviews two cases in which courts found that it had not been proven that all of the criteria of Article 107(1) TFEU had been satisfied. Case I: Not being able to prove that the measure is attributed to a decision of the state With decision 2024/2033, published in OJ L, 29 July 2024, the Commission corrected its […]
read more
No Comments
2. July 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Green Energy Certificates
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 3
Introduction Certificates that confirm that an undertaking has bought a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources do not normally involve State aid because they are not traded. However, when they are tradeable and are granted by a public authority for free or for a fee that falls below their market value, they normally involve State aid as they confer […]
read more
No Comments
13. February 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources, Control and Imputability
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 1
Introduction A public measure can be classified as State aid only when it is funded from state resources. Measures funded from the budgets of public authorities are always considered to be supported by state resources. However, measures not funded from state budgets may still be supported by state resources. This is because, rather counterintuitively, the concept of state resources covers […]
read more
No Comments
20. June 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Regulatory Measures Are not State aid & Trade Unions Are not “Interested Party”
State Aid Blogs - Untitled design 3
Introduction This article reviews two recent judgments dealing with the concept of state resources and the meaning of “interested party”, respectively. State resources On 8 June 2023, the Court of Justice clarified, by its judgment in case C-50/21, Prestige and Limousine SL, that purely regulatory measures may confer and advantage without, however, granting State aid.1 The Court was responding to […]
read more
No Comments
24. January 2023  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Resources Include all the Resources that Can be Directed by the State for its own Purposes
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 40
Introduction On 12 January 2023, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in joined cases C-702/20, DOBELES HES and C-17/21, Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija.[1] A Latvian court requested the Court of Justice to provide a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU, Article 108(3) TFEU, Regulation 1407/2013 on de minimis aid and of the procedural Regulation 2015/1589. The […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

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