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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2. July 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – July 2015
gavel
Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.de Wednesday 01/07/2015 Opinion in Case C-357/14 P Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber)   Thursday 02/07/2015 Judgment in Joined cases T-425/04 RENV France v Commission, T-444/04 RENV Orange v Commission (General Court – Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition)   Wednesday 08/07/2015 Hearing in Case T-287/11 Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth […]
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29. June 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Levying of Charges to Maintain Equal Treatment Is Not Necessarily Selective
State Aid Blogs - SAH blogpost37 Hinkley Point C UK 2017
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 […]
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22. June 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Ex post Monitoring of a Risk Capital Fund
State Aid Blogs - 10.10. Stateaid deminimis calculator
Ex post monitoring will be pursued vigorously by the Commission. Irregularities in the implementation of State aid measures may lead to the opening of the formal investigation procedure.   Introduction This article examines Commission decision concerning a UK risk capital scheme entitled Enterprise Capital Funds [SA.15373 and SA.33186]. The decision is the outcome of an investigation that was initiated after […]
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17. June 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

EStAL Best Reviewer Award 2014/2015
Last week our 13th Experts’ Forum on New Developments in European State Aid Law took place. From 10th to 12th June 2015 a group of enthusiastic professionals interested in State Aid gathered at the Club of the University Foundation in Brussels to discuss the most recent issues on the topic. In the realm of this conference, we were proud to announce our […]
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15. June 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Germany Scores a Hat-trick of Non-Aid Measures!
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost33 trade
At the end of April, the European Commission announced that seven measures were found not to constitute State aid because they could not be reasonably expected to affect cross-border trade. The finding of no affectation of trade is rare. That seven measures were thought not capable of affecting trade is very exceptional. Perhaps the Commission is trying to signal to […]
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8. June 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Perils of Ex Post Monitoring
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost4 2019 lexxion pari passu chemistry Investment
Greater use of the new General Block Exemption Regulation means fewer State aid measures subject to notification and ex ante assessment by the Commission. However, less ex ante control will be followed by more ex post control. Member States should be prepared for wider and more intrusive ex post monitoring.   Introduction One of the cornerstones of the State Aid […]
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3. June 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – June 2015
gavel
Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Thursday 04/06/2015 Judgment in Case C-15/14 P Commission v MOL (Court of Justice – First Chamber)   Tuesday 09/06/2015 Hearing in Case T-515/13 Spain v Commission (General Court – Seventh Chamber)   Wednesday 10/06/2015 Hearing in Case C-367/14 Commission v Italy (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Hearing in Case T-719/13 Lico Leasing and Pequeños y […]
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1. June 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

How Injection of Public Capital Can Be Free of State Aid
State Aid Blogs - m 1 4
Injection of public capital in an undertaking conforms with the market economy investor principle when: The public investment is equal and concomitant to private investment. The public investment has economic significance and is not followed by disengagement of private investors. The recipient undertaking is in a healthy financial position. The recipient undertaking compares favourably to its peers. The investment is […]
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27. May 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring Aid, Recovery of Aid and Procedural Rights
State Aid Blogs - m 13 2
Restructuring aid can finance any part of a restructuring plan. Compensatory measures initiated before the granting of restructuring aid can be taken into account as long as they are linked to the restructuring itself. Member States have to comply with the conditions defined in Commission decisions. They cannot justify non-compliance on the grounds of domestic institutional difficulties. Regional authorities that […]
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19. May 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Service Obligations: A Few More Mistakes that Can Be Avoided
State Aid Blogs - m 14 2
Even efficient companies will fail the 4th Altmark criterion if their costs are not proven to be comparable to those of a typical and well-equipped undertaking. Public funding of infrastructure is not State aid to users only if access is open to all. Public funding for training to raise social awareness is still State aid if it relieves companies of […]
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29. November 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Private Investor Principle Applied to Loans [Commission Decision 2013/528]
ship in the shipyard
Introduction The State aid issue in this case is relatively straightforward. Nauta, a Polish shipyard, received a two-year loan from IDA, the state-owned Polish Investment Agency. Because Nauta ran into some financial trouble, the loan was extended for another two years. In Decision 2013/528, the Commission had to examine two questions: First, did the initial loan market conform? Second, if […]
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22. November 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

How Not to Determine the Effect on Trade [Infrastructure for Tourism, Czech Republic (SA.35909)]
Prague panorama
Introduction Normally the articles in this blog identify landmark court rulings and seminal decisions of the Commission which set important precedents and provide useful guidance to State aid professionals and practitioners. This article deviates from this custom. It examines a recent case where the Commission concluded that public subsidies did not constitute State aid because intra-EU trade was not affected. […]
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15. November 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Private Vendor Principle: How to Organise a State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Assets
bank building
Introduction   The private investor principle (PIP) or market economy investor principle is well established in the case law. A closely related concept is the private vendor principle (PVP). The PIP applies when a public authority assumes risk by investing in an undertaking, for example through the purchase of shares, injection of capital, granting of a loan or provision of […]
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8. November 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Tax Hypothecation and Economic Efficiency under Altmark: T-275/11, French Television 1 v Commission
television
Background France Télévisions is a limited company wholly owned by the French State. As France abolished advertising on public television, it also decided to provide financial compensation to France Télévisions. For this reason it introduced new taxes to generate revenue for the compensation: a tax on advertising and a tax on electronic communications. In January 2009, France notified to the […]
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31. October 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Public Authority Can Behave Like a Private Investor even when the Beneficiary Has Little Prospect of Future Profitability
airplane flying
Introduction When a public authority invests in an undertaking, it must earn a return at market rates, otherwise the investment is State aid. Normally, it is much easier to prove that the investment has a reasonable prospect of profitability and, therefore, that it would be made by a private investor, when the recipient undertaking is in a good financial situation. […]
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18. October 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Case of Public Funding of Infrastructure that Does not Constitute State Aid: But Many Questions Remain
fortress
Introduction After the landmark judgment in Leipzig-Halle, public authorities are justifiably careful to ensure that the infrastructure they fund is either free of State aid or, if that is unavoidable, that the State aid is compatible with the internal market. Recent cases have shown that there are two problems in this regard. First, public authorities must verify whether the organisations […]
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11. October 0213  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure
gavel on a laptop
Introduction   The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]
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4. October 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Offsetting of a Structural Disadvantage Is still State Aid
scale and a book
Introduction Normally it is conceptually and technically fairly easy to determine whether an undertaking benefits from a public measure. However, this task becomes considerably more difficult in two situations: i) when a public authority claims that it acts like a private investor and ii) when a public measure is intended to compensate for a disadvantage suffered by the beneficiary undertaking […]
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26. September 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Emerging Doctrine of Inseparability and Compensation for Public Service Obligations [T-347/09, Germany v Commission]
hands in a forest
Introduction In the landmark judgment in Leipzig Halle, the General Court stated that infrastructure which is inseparable from economic activity is itself economic and its public funding can fall in principle within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU. The Court of Justice has confirmed this principle. On 12 September 2013, the General Court in its judgment in case T-347/09, Germany […]
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14. September 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Privatisation of Aeroportos de Portugal: Conflict between the National Economic Adjustment Programme and State Aid Rules?
people at the airport
Background Portugal notified to the Commission the privatisation of the “Aeroportos de Portugal” [ANA] for reasons of legal certainty [SA.36197].[1] ANA is the operator of most Portuguese airports. It manages eight airports across Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Beja, and 4 airports in the Azores) that account for the vast majority of the commercial air traffic in the country. It is worth […]
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