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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25. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Where is the Money? The Link between Advantage and Transfer of State Resources
100 euro detail
On 19 March 2013, the Court of Justice delivered an important judgment in case C-399/10 P, Bouygues v European Commission concerning aid that was granted by France to France Telecom. The case was an appeal to an earlier ruling of the General Court in case T 425/04 France and Others v Commission which annulled Article 1 of Commission Decision 2006/621 […]
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16. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Loans, Guarantees and Credit Worthiness
contract signing
This post examines the two latest judgments of EU courts on State aid. They do not introduce any novel approaches to the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU but they confirm and clarify the obligations of the State in its dealings with undertakings. T-387/11, Nitrogenmuvek Vegyipari v European Commission   On 27 February 2013, the General Court rendered its judgment in […]
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8. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

An “Alternative” Method of Valuation for State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Land
construction site
The obligation of the state to act as a private vendor   When a public authority sells an asset to an undertaking, it must sell it at market price. The case law is clear on this point, especially with respect to the sale of public land or a building. Such a sale may constitute state aid “where it is not […]
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1. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Market Economy Vendor Principle: Sale of Public Land by the Dutch Municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg [Commission Decision SA.24123]
Cadastre
The previous posting examined a case where the European Commission applied the Market Economy Investor Principle [MEIP]. This is the principle that is used to determine whether there is state aid in commercial transactions between public authorities and undertakings. According to Article 345 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [TFEU], the European Union is neutral with […]
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18. February 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Curious Case of Applying the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Monopoly
monopoly game
On 3 October 2012, the European Commission concluded, in case SA.33988, that OPAP, the Greek operator of games of chance received no state aid because the Market Economy Investor Principle applied.[1] At first glance there is nothing unusual about a finding of no aid. But, as always, the devil is in the detail. OPAP holds the exclusive rights to organise various […]
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19. February 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Blog Intro
pen and paper
State Aid Uncovered State aid law and policy evolve all the time. The basic rules are fairly stable but their interpretation and application are frequently adjusted to take into account changes in market conditions, novel forms of cooperation between public authorities and companies and ever more complex funding instruments and arrangements. This blog tracks the evolution of state aid law […]
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