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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18. March 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation for the Net Cost of Providing Postal Services
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 42
Introduction Significant changes have occurred in the postal sector across Europe. Partly as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and partly due to technological evolution, letter deliveries have declined precipitously while parcel deliveries have increased substantially. At the same time digital mail has become ubiquitous. For example, in early March 2025, NordPost, the postal incumbent in Denmark and Sweden announced […]
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11. March 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Lease of Public Land
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 41
Introduction Public land is a public asset that must be priced correctly when rented out to third parties. The problem is that in most cases rented out plots of public land are either too large or are in unusual places. In either case, comparable commercial transactions are difficult to find, especially if transactions in such plots are infrequent. In these […]
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4. March 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Tax Exemptions for Public Casinos
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 40
Introduction The Commission, in decision 2025/317, spanning 60 pages with close to 300 recitals and concerning the special tax treatment of public casino operators in Germany, found that that treatment constituted unlawful and incompatible State aid that had to be recovered.[1] Following a complaint by the German association of gambling machine operators [Fachverband Spielhallen], the Commission examined i) special tax […]
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25. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Granting of Rescue Aid to a Member of a Company Group
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 38
Introduction State aid to rescue a company and finance its restructuring is considered to be the most distortionary form of aid. However, it is allowed only to prevent serious social harm and only after notification to and assessment by the Commission. The compatibility assessment is always exhaustive and seeks to establish, among other things, whether State aid is the only […]
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18. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Individual Aid to Support Reduction of CO2 Emissions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 34
Introduction State aid rules are, in general, less favourable to large companies mostly because they have more own funds, access to cheaper finance [mostly due to longer track record and higher credit ratings] and are more mobile so that regional handicaps have a lesser effect on them. Size also brings other advantages such as the ability to hire top economic […]
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11. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

What Competitors Must Show in order to Be Able to Challenge a Commission Decision on State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 33
Introduction A perennial question is whether competitors of aid recipients have legal standing to appeal against Commission decisions that either authorise aid or find that a public measure does not constitute State aid. The answer depends on whether the Commission decision is adopted without the opening of the formal investigation procedure or after a form investigation. It is easier to […]
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3. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Court of Justice Misses an Opportunity to Provide Guidance on how to Detect Possible Infringement of other Provisions of EU Law by State Aid Measures
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 32
Introduction On 23 January 2025, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in case C‑490/23 P, Neos v Ryanair.[1] Neos, a private airline licensed in Italy, appealed against the judgment of the General Court in case T-268/21, Ryanair v Commission, by which it annulled Commission decision SA.59029 concerning an Italian compensation scheme for airlines with an Italian operating licence.[2] The […]
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3. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Offshore Wind Installations
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 30
Introduction State aid to support the generation of electricity from renewable sources must, as standard practice, be granted on the basis of a competitive selection process whereby the most efficient operator gets aid first. With a binding budget, the least efficient operators are excluded. However, there is an exception to this rule for small installations and in situations where there […]
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21. January 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Incompatible State Aid May Be Recovered from an Undertaking other than the Direct Recipient
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 29
Introduction The first judgment of 2025 on State aid was rendered by the Cour of Justice of the EU [CJEU] in case C-588/23, Scai, on 16 January 2025. It was a response to a request for a preliminary ruling by an Italian court.[1] Scai had initiated legal proceedings before a national court to contest a request by Regione Campania for […]
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14. January 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Accelerated Rollout of Renewable Energy
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 28
Introduction The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State aid expired on 31 December 2024. However, certain provisions remain in force until 31 December 2025. Those provisions are the following: Section 2.5.1: Investment aid for accelerating the rollout of renewable energy and for energy storage. Section 2.5.2: Operating aid for accelerating the rollout of renewable energy and for energy storage. […]
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11. March 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Lease of Public Land
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 41
Introduction Public land is a public asset that must be priced correctly when rented out to third parties. The problem is that in most cases rented out plots of public land are either too large or are in unusual places. In either case, comparable commercial transactions are difficult to find, especially if transactions in such plots are infrequent. In these […]
read more
No Comments
4. March 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Tax Exemptions for Public Casinos
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 40
Introduction The Commission, in decision 2025/317, spanning 60 pages with close to 300 recitals and concerning the special tax treatment of public casino operators in Germany, found that that treatment constituted unlawful and incompatible State aid that had to be recovered.[1] Following a complaint by the German association of gambling machine operators [Fachverband Spielhallen], the Commission examined i) special tax […]
read more
No Comments
25. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Granting of Rescue Aid to a Member of a Company Group
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 38
Introduction State aid to rescue a company and finance its restructuring is considered to be the most distortionary form of aid. However, it is allowed only to prevent serious social harm and only after notification to and assessment by the Commission. The compatibility assessment is always exhaustive and seeks to establish, among other things, whether State aid is the only […]
read more
No Comments
18. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Individual Aid to Support Reduction of CO2 Emissions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 34
Introduction State aid rules are, in general, less favourable to large companies mostly because they have more own funds, access to cheaper finance [mostly due to longer track record and higher credit ratings] and are more mobile so that regional handicaps have a lesser effect on them. Size also brings other advantages such as the ability to hire top economic […]
read more
No Comments
11. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

What Competitors Must Show in order to Be Able to Challenge a Commission Decision on State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 33
Introduction A perennial question is whether competitors of aid recipients have legal standing to appeal against Commission decisions that either authorise aid or find that a public measure does not constitute State aid. The answer depends on whether the Commission decision is adopted without the opening of the formal investigation procedure or after a form investigation. It is easier to […]
read more
No Comments
3. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Court of Justice Misses an Opportunity to Provide Guidance on how to Detect Possible Infringement of other Provisions of EU Law by State Aid Measures
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 32
Introduction On 23 January 2025, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in case C‑490/23 P, Neos v Ryanair.[1] Neos, a private airline licensed in Italy, appealed against the judgment of the General Court in case T-268/21, Ryanair v Commission, by which it annulled Commission decision SA.59029 concerning an Italian compensation scheme for airlines with an Italian operating licence.[2] The […]
read more
No Comments
3. February 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Offshore Wind Installations
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 30
Introduction State aid to support the generation of electricity from renewable sources must, as standard practice, be granted on the basis of a competitive selection process whereby the most efficient operator gets aid first. With a binding budget, the least efficient operators are excluded. However, there is an exception to this rule for small installations and in situations where there […]
read more
No Comments
21. January 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Incompatible State Aid May Be Recovered from an Undertaking other than the Direct Recipient
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 29
Introduction The first judgment of 2025 on State aid was rendered by the Cour of Justice of the EU [CJEU] in case C-588/23, Scai, on 16 January 2025. It was a response to a request for a preliminary ruling by an Italian court.[1] Scai had initiated legal proceedings before a national court to contest a request by Regione Campania for […]
read more
No Comments
14. January 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Accelerated Rollout of Renewable Energy
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 28
Introduction The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State aid expired on 31 December 2024. However, certain provisions remain in force until 31 December 2025. Those provisions are the following: Section 2.5.1: Investment aid for accelerating the rollout of renewable energy and for energy storage. Section 2.5.2: Operating aid for accelerating the rollout of renewable energy and for energy storage. […]
read more
No Comments
9. January 2025  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Problem of Compensatory State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 27
Introduction During the covid-19 pandemic there were fewer bankruptcies than normal. The consensus opinion is that the vast amounts of liquidity that were pumped into EU economies saved not only healthy companies but also many of those that would have otherwise gone out of business. Although the large-scale support schemes were necessary, they also created a problem: how to separate […]
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29. December 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Top 3 State Aid Blog Posts from 2016
State Aid Blogs - m 4 2
From remarks on the Commission Notice on the Notion of State aid over to the right of access and State aid procedures, our guest bloggers on the StateAidHub have shed light on various controversial State aid judgments and developments. View now the most popular posts of 2016.   With the end of 2016, we thank not only Prof Phedon Nicolaides […]
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15. December 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Dimitrios Kyriazis

Ever wondered how Lexxion Seminars are like? Read this Summary of “State Aid in Tax Measures”
Lexxion Seminar
The following is a summary of the main points that were presented and the issues that were discussed in the seminar on State Aid in Tax Measures that was held by Lexxion in Brussels on 7-8 November 2016. The summary has been prepared for information purposes only and it is not meant to be a precise record of the proceedings […]
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19. October 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Gherardo Carullo

Right of Access and State Aid Procedures: a Look at the General Presumption of Confidentiality and the Overriding Public Interest in Case C-271/15, Sea Handling v Commission
airplane flying
Today we are glad to welcome Dr. Gherardo Carullo, research fellow and Ph.D. in law at University of Milan, LL.M. (King’s College London), to our State Aid Blog. He specialises in public law, from a national and European perspective, and in particular in State intervention in the markets, both in his academic studies and in the legal profession. In this […]
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5. October 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Erika Szyszczak

Article 263(4) TFEU: Third Party Challenges to State Aid Decisions
gavel
We are happy to welcome back Prof Erika Szyszczak on the State Aid Blog today. She is Professor of Law and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at University of Sussex and practising barrister and ADR mediator at Littleton Chambers, Temple, London. Today she shares her views on two cases that shed new light on third party rights to […]
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14. September 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Michał Bernat

Polish Green Certificates Held by the Commission to Be Compatible State Aid: a Curious Story Comes to an End
windmills
We are happy to welcome Dr Michał Bernat on the State Aid Blog today. He is a legal and tax adviser and State aid expert at the Dentons offices in Warsaw. Today he shares his insights on a decision in a case involving Polish green certificates issued to producers of energy from renewable energy sources. Read on to learn more. […]
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1. September 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – September 2016
gavel
Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases this month. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog.   Wednesday 14/09/2016 Judgment in Case T-57/15 – Trajektna luka Split v Commission (General Court – Seventh Chamber)   […]
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18. August 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

New Video: How to notify State aid?
youtube screenshot
What is State aid? Why do I need to be concerned about State aid? These and many more basic questions are answered in our videos on YouTube. Make sure to visit us!   Today one of our speakers and Attaché for State aid of the Hungarian central administration, Peter Staviczky explains how you notify State aid to the European Commission. Find out how to […]
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11. August 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

New Video: What is GBER and how to use it?
youtube screenshot
What is State aid? Why do I need to be concerned about State aid? These and many more basic questions are answered in our videos on YouTube. Make sure to visit us!   Today Alexander Rose from the Government Legal Service of the UK explains what the GBER (=General Block Exemption Regulation) is and how to use it. Watch the video, comment and […]
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1. July 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – July 2016
gavel
Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases this month. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog.     Thursday 14/07/2016 Judgment in Case T-143/12 – Germany v Commission (General Court – Eigth Chamber) Tuesday 19/07/2016 […]
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22. June 2016  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Gian Marco Galletti

Remarks on the Infrastructure Section of the Commission Notice on the Notion of State Aid
Cable-stayed bridge across river Po in Northern Italy
Today we are glad to welcome once again Gian Marco Galletti as guest author on our State aid blog. He is a PhD Candidate & EU Law Tutor at the Dickson Poon School of Law of King’s College London. In this blog post he comments on the Commission’s new Notice on the notion of State aid. Thank you for your […]
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