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

- Incompatible Aid ×

National Court May Order Recovery of Illegal Aid that Is Considered Existing Aid

Introduction The European Commission is required by Regulation 2015/1589 to order recover of State aid that it finds to be incompatible with the internal market. However, it may not order recovery of illegal aid – i.e. non-notified aid – until it assesses its compatibility with the internal market. By contrast, national courts have no competence to assess the compatibility of […]

Recovery of Incompatible Aid in an Agreement between an Airport and an Airline

Introduction On 23 November 2023, the Court of Justice, in case C-758/21 P, Ryanair v European Commission, rejected Ryanair’s action against the judgment of the General Court in case T-448/18, Ryanair v European Commission.1 In its judgment, the General Court dismissed Ryanair’s appeal against Commission decision 2018/628. In that decision, the Commission found, among other things, that Austria had granted […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part II)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. [In case you have missed part I, you can access it here.] Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part I)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the granting of compensation to an undertaking for the provision of SGEI must […]

The Recovery of Incompatible Aid Cannot be Absolutely Impossible Unless it is first Attempted

Introduction In its ruling of 6 November 2018 in cases C‑622/16 P to C‑624/16 P, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission, the Court of Justice made it harder for Member States to escape from their recovery obligations.[1] Montessori appealed against the judgment of the General Court in case T‑220/13, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission. That judgment was reviewed here on […]

Indirect v Secondary Effects of State Aid

The prohibition of State aid in Article 107(1) of the Treaty applies both to the direct and indirect beneficiaries of aid. The direct and indirect beneficiaries are those who are intentionally targeted by the aid. Secondary effects are benefits which are inherent in an aid measure and which are not targeted at specific undertakings.   Introduction Public funding for the […]

Altmark, again!

Sectoral regulation is not the same as definition of public service obligation. Aid that favours a certain technology is incompatible with the internal market, unless it can be objectively justified.   Introduction “Altmark” has become a permanent feature in the landscape of State aid. Its application was again one of the main issues of contention in six judgments rendered by […]

The Cost of not Recovering Incompatible Aid

The Commission is not obliged to quantify precisely the amount of aid that has to be recovered. The Member State that fails to recover incompatible aid or fails to recover all of it risks legal action against both before national and EU courts. The Commission may initiate infringement proceedings and request the Court of Justice to impose penalties against the failing Member […]

- Incompatible Aid ×

National Court May Order Recovery of Illegal Aid that Is Considered Existing Aid

Introduction The European Commission is required by Regulation 2015/1589 to order recover of State aid that it finds to be incompatible with the internal market. However, it may not order recovery of illegal aid – i.e. non-notified aid – until it assesses its compatibility with the internal market. By contrast, national courts have no competence to assess the compatibility of […]

Recovery of Incompatible Aid in an Agreement between an Airport and an Airline

Introduction On 23 November 2023, the Court of Justice, in case C-758/21 P, Ryanair v European Commission, rejected Ryanair’s action against the judgment of the General Court in case T-448/18, Ryanair v European Commission.1 In its judgment, the General Court dismissed Ryanair’s appeal against Commission decision 2018/628. In that decision, the Commission found, among other things, that Austria had granted […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part II)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. [In case you have missed part I, you can access it here.] Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part I)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the granting of compensation to an undertaking for the provision of SGEI must […]

The Recovery of Incompatible Aid Cannot be Absolutely Impossible Unless it is first Attempted

Introduction In its ruling of 6 November 2018 in cases C‑622/16 P to C‑624/16 P, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission, the Court of Justice made it harder for Member States to escape from their recovery obligations.[1] Montessori appealed against the judgment of the General Court in case T‑220/13, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission. That judgment was reviewed here on […]

Indirect v Secondary Effects of State Aid

The prohibition of State aid in Article 107(1) of the Treaty applies both to the direct and indirect beneficiaries of aid. The direct and indirect beneficiaries are those who are intentionally targeted by the aid. Secondary effects are benefits which are inherent in an aid measure and which are not targeted at specific undertakings.   Introduction Public funding for the […]

Altmark, again!

Sectoral regulation is not the same as definition of public service obligation. Aid that favours a certain technology is incompatible with the internal market, unless it can be objectively justified.   Introduction “Altmark” has become a permanent feature in the landscape of State aid. Its application was again one of the main issues of contention in six judgments rendered by […]

The Cost of not Recovering Incompatible Aid

The Commission is not obliged to quantify precisely the amount of aid that has to be recovered. The Member State that fails to recover incompatible aid or fails to recover all of it risks legal action against both before national and EU courts. The Commission may initiate infringement proceedings and request the Court of Justice to impose penalties against the failing Member […]

- Incompatible Aid ×

National Court May Order Recovery of Illegal Aid that Is Considered Existing Aid

Introduction The European Commission is required by Regulation 2015/1589 to order recover of State aid that it finds to be incompatible with the internal market. However, it may not order recovery of illegal aid – i.e. non-notified aid – until it assesses its compatibility with the internal market. By contrast, national courts have no competence to assess the compatibility of […]

Recovery of Incompatible Aid in an Agreement between an Airport and an Airline

Introduction On 23 November 2023, the Court of Justice, in case C-758/21 P, Ryanair v European Commission, rejected Ryanair’s action against the judgment of the General Court in case T-448/18, Ryanair v European Commission.1 In its judgment, the General Court dismissed Ryanair’s appeal against Commission decision 2018/628. In that decision, the Commission found, among other things, that Austria had granted […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part II)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. [In case you have missed part I, you can access it here.] Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the […]

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part I)

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the granting of compensation to an undertaking for the provision of SGEI must […]

The Recovery of Incompatible Aid Cannot be Absolutely Impossible Unless it is first Attempted

Introduction In its ruling of 6 November 2018 in cases C‑622/16 P to C‑624/16 P, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission, the Court of Justice made it harder for Member States to escape from their recovery obligations.[1] Montessori appealed against the judgment of the General Court in case T‑220/13, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission. That judgment was reviewed here on […]

Indirect v Secondary Effects of State Aid

The prohibition of State aid in Article 107(1) of the Treaty applies both to the direct and indirect beneficiaries of aid. The direct and indirect beneficiaries are those who are intentionally targeted by the aid. Secondary effects are benefits which are inherent in an aid measure and which are not targeted at specific undertakings.   Introduction Public funding for the […]

Altmark, again!

Sectoral regulation is not the same as definition of public service obligation. Aid that favours a certain technology is incompatible with the internal market, unless it can be objectively justified.   Introduction “Altmark” has become a permanent feature in the landscape of State aid. Its application was again one of the main issues of contention in six judgments rendered by […]

The Cost of not Recovering Incompatible Aid

The Commission is not obliged to quantify precisely the amount of aid that has to be recovered. The Member State that fails to recover incompatible aid or fails to recover all of it risks legal action against both before national and EU courts. The Commission may initiate infringement proceedings and request the Court of Justice to impose penalties against the failing Member […]

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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