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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9. July 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission May Authorise a Public Measure only if it Constitutes State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 1 1
Introduction Sometimes the Commission is uncertain whether a public measure constitutes State aid. Nonetheless, it decides not raise objections on the grounds that if the measure constituted State aid, it would be compatible with the internal market. One can understand why the Commission follows this approach. If it is not sure whether a measure falls outside the scope of Article […]
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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 […]
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25. June 2024  |   by Phedon Nicolaides

Aid Measures with Limited Beneficiaries
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Introduction During the covid-19 pandemic Member States granted State aid to undertakings they considered important for their economies or for maintaining their connectivity with the rest of the world. Ryanair appealed against multiple Commission decisions authorising that aid. Ryanair succeeded in some of its challenges on technical issues. It lost all other cases on issues of principle. On 6 June […]
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18. June 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Obligations Imposed by the State Cannot Justify Tax Exemptions
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 18
Introduction Over the past decade or so, the European Commission has found that multiple port operators have benefitted from State aid in the form of tax exemptions. This aid was in all cases found to be incompatible with the internal market, despite the claims of the port operators that the state had imposed on the public service obligations or that […]
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11. June 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Member States May Grant State Aid to Single Beneficiaries
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Introduction The European Court of Justice confirmed, once more, on 30 May 2024, in case C-353/21 P, Ryanair v Commission, that Member States do not have to grant State aid to all undertakings that may be affected by a serious economic disturbance such as a pandemic.2 This is because Member States do not have unlimited resources and because they may […]
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4. June 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Special Tax Treatment for a Major Infrastructure Project
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 16
Introduction In April 2013, the Commission received a complaint alleging that State aid had been granted to the Oresund fixed link. The link is a major transport infrastructure project consisting of a bridge, an artificial island and tunnels between Denmark and Sweden. In October 2014, the Commission concluded that the public funding of the hinterland road and rail connections was […]
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28. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Research Project Based on Collaboration with a Research Organisation
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 15
Introduction After pre-notification contacts, Croatia notified, in March 2023, State aid amounting to a EUR 179.5 million for an R&D project regarding the development of an innovative autonomous electric vehicle [a “robo-taxi”]. The aid, in the form of a grant, was to be provided to Project 3 Mobility LLC [P3M]. The Commission approved it in decision SA.101759.1 The aid beneficiary, […]
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21. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Authorisation of State Aid after the Start of a Project
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 13
Introduction In June 2021, the European Commission, in decision SA.55526, approved an amount of EUR 167 million of State aid for the construction and operation of a liquefied natural gas [LNG] terminal close to Alexandroupolis in northern Greece. In December 2022, Greece notified a measure involving additional State aid of EUR 106 million for the same project. The Commission authorised […]
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14. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 12
Introduction State aid to failing undertakings is the most distortionary form of public subsidies. They prevent the market exit of inefficient companies. For this reason, State aid for rescue or restructuring of undertakings in difficulty must always be notified to the Commission which examines each case very carefully and allows this kind of aid only when, among other things, the […]
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7. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Procurement and State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 2
Introduction A faulty public procurement procedure or the use of discriminatory selection criteria can confer an advantage on the chosen undertaking that may constitute an advantage in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. The result will be infringement of both public procurement rules and State aid rules. A recent Commission decision, SA.47650, is instructive on how Member States should design […]
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4. June 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Special Tax Treatment for a Major Infrastructure Project
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 16
Introduction In April 2013, the Commission received a complaint alleging that State aid had been granted to the Oresund fixed link. The link is a major transport infrastructure project consisting of a bridge, an artificial island and tunnels between Denmark and Sweden. In October 2014, the Commission concluded that the public funding of the hinterland road and rail connections was […]
read more
No Comments
28. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Research Project Based on Collaboration with a Research Organisation
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 15
Introduction After pre-notification contacts, Croatia notified, in March 2023, State aid amounting to a EUR 179.5 million for an R&D project regarding the development of an innovative autonomous electric vehicle [a “robo-taxi”]. The aid, in the form of a grant, was to be provided to Project 3 Mobility LLC [P3M]. The Commission approved it in decision SA.101759.1 The aid beneficiary, […]
read more
No Comments
21. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Authorisation of State Aid after the Start of a Project
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 13
Introduction In June 2021, the European Commission, in decision SA.55526, approved an amount of EUR 167 million of State aid for the construction and operation of a liquefied natural gas [LNG] terminal close to Alexandroupolis in northern Greece. In December 2022, Greece notified a measure involving additional State aid of EUR 106 million for the same project. The Commission authorised […]
read more
No Comments
14. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 12
Introduction State aid to failing undertakings is the most distortionary form of public subsidies. They prevent the market exit of inefficient companies. For this reason, State aid for rescue or restructuring of undertakings in difficulty must always be notified to the Commission which examines each case very carefully and allows this kind of aid only when, among other things, the […]
read more
No Comments
7. May 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Procurement and State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 2
Introduction A faulty public procurement procedure or the use of discriminatory selection criteria can confer an advantage on the chosen undertaking that may constitute an advantage in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. The result will be infringement of both public procurement rules and State aid rules. A recent Commission decision, SA.47650, is instructive on how Member States should design […]
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30. April 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Case of a Narrow Tax that Is Not Selective
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Introduction On 17 April 2024, the General Court ruled, in case T-112/22, Ideella föreningen Svenska Bankföreningen med firma Svenska Bankföreningen, Näringsverksamhet & Länsförsäkringar Bank v Commission, that a Swedish tax on only nine banks was not selective by not taxing the many smaller banks.1 The applicants, a Swedish banking association and a Swedish bank, respectively, sought the annulment of Commission […]
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23. April 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Pricing of Access to Infrastructure for the Treatment of Waste Water
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Introduction It is not unusual for EU courts to refer to the Commission’s 2016 Notice on the Notion of State Aid as a means of shedding light to the more obscure aspects of that notion. What is very unusual is for EU courts to treat the Notice as if it has the same status as the guidelines that bind the […]
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16. April 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Awards by Arbitration Tribunal
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Introduction In an unusual judgment, the Court of Justice found on 14 March 2024, in case C-516/22, Commission v UK, that the UK had infringed Article 4(3) TEU, Article 108(3) TFEU, Article 267(1)&(3) TFEU and Article 351(1) TFEU, in conjunction with Article 127(1) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU because the UK Supreme Court […]
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9. April 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

An Innovative Risk-Sharing Tool for the Support of an LNG Terminal
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Introduction The Commission, in decision SA.102163, authorised State aid for the construction of a terminal for liquefied natural gas [LNG] in Brunsbüttel, Germany.1 The project consists of an LNG import, storage and distribution facility with annual capacity of about 10 billion m3. The project is carried out by the German LNG Terminal GmbH [GLNG] which has three shareholders: the Dutch […]
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2. April 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Court of Justice Conflates Objective Justification with Policy Objective, in the context of Public Support of Green Electricity
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts
Introduction Suppose a Member State subsidises the installation of solar panels on the roof of a corporate building situated at number 5 on Main Street. Is this a general measure because there is no other building in the whole country with the same address? Of course, it is not a general measure. The uniqueness of the address is irrelevant. Apart […]
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28. November 2014  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Erika Szyszczak

State Aid for Nuclear Power: No Thanks! Maybe? Yes Please!
State Aid Blogs - workers in nuclear plant
The Commission’s decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station of 8th October 2014 and what this might mean for the approach to nuclear energy… In 2014, the European Commission adopted new Guidelines on State aid for energy and the environment. These were followed by the adoption of a new General Block Exemption Regulation that also included measures relating to energy […]
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27. November 2014  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Juan Jorge Piernas Lopez

Tax Rulings and State Aid: Now or Never
apple fiat starbucks
This comment looks at the Commission’s decisions to open in-depth investigations into the tax treatment of Apple, Starbucks and Fiat Finance and Trade by Ireland, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.   The European Commission has recently opened three in-depth investigations under Article 108(2) TFEU concerning tax rulings in Ireland, The Netherlands and Luxembourg with regard to the corporate income tax to be paid by Apple, Starbucks […]
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