Europäisches Beihilfenrecht 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

- Ryanair ×

Market Economy Operator

Comparing prices charged by different airports is not a suitable method for detecting the existence of selective advantages. Introduction Airports enter into complex agreements with airlines. When airports are in public ownership or operate under a mandate by the state, their agreements with airlines may contain State aid. It is, however, very difficult to detect State aid in these agreements […]

The Private Investor Principle in Air Transport – Part I

Public funds managed by private airport operators can be classified as state resources. Prices charged by airport operators can be used as a benchmark for market prices only if their activities and size are comparable and their costs are not subsidised by State aid. Before a private investor enters into any commercial arrangement, it takes into account all relevant information, […]

PART I: Regional Development and i) Market Economy Operator Test, ii) Services of General Economic Interest

A market economy operator undertakes activities whose incremental revenue exceeds their incremental costs. A market economy operator ignores costs which are unaffected by those activities. A service of general economic interest has special characteristics that set it apart from other services with positive impact on the economy. Having a positive impact is not enough.   Introduction National and regional authorities […]

A Market Operator, unlike a Public Authority, Does not Have to Treat all Customers Equally

In managing infrastructure, a public authority acts as a private operator when it seeks a reasonable return on its investment and also takes into account the alternative of not operating the infrastructure. The manager of an infrastructural project may charge different fees to different users to optimise usage and increase revenue.   Introduction This article reviews Commission decision 2015/506 concerning […]

Another Measure that Cannot Be Justified by the Logic of the Tax System

The granting of a tax exception is often found to constitute State aid. But the non-levying of a tax may also fall within the scope of Article 107(1). Competitors have more rights when the Commission does not open the formal investigation procedure.   IntroductionOn 25 November 2014, the Court of Justice, in case T-512/11, Ryanair v European Commission, annulled Commission […]

Case T-512/11 Ryanair : Commission’s ATT Ireland Decision Partly Annulled (ATT Act I)

On Tuesday (25.11.2014) the General Court delighted the StateAidHub team by dishing out a shiny new ruling just in time for our launch date. Here’s a quick first look at the ruling. This post takes a preliminary look at Case T-512/11 Ryanair Ltd v Commission.This is only one of the appeals being brought against the Commission’s dabblings with the Irish Air […]

Airport Operators and Budget Airlines [Commission Decision SA.23324: Finavia, Airpro and Ryanair at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport

During the past 18 months or so, the European Commission has launched more than 20 investigations in the funding of regional airports and the arrangements that these airports have concluded with budget airlines such as Ryanair. This posting analyses a very recent Commission decision which found that no State aid was granted to either the airport operator or Ryanair. This […]

- Ryanair ×

Market Economy Operator

Comparing prices charged by different airports is not a suitable method for detecting the existence of selective advantages. Introduction Airports enter into complex agreements with airlines. When airports are in public ownership or operate under a mandate by the state, their agreements with airlines may contain State aid. It is, however, very difficult to detect State aid in these agreements […]

The Private Investor Principle in Air Transport – Part I

Public funds managed by private airport operators can be classified as state resources. Prices charged by airport operators can be used as a benchmark for market prices only if their activities and size are comparable and their costs are not subsidised by State aid. Before a private investor enters into any commercial arrangement, it takes into account all relevant information, […]

PART I: Regional Development and i) Market Economy Operator Test, ii) Services of General Economic Interest

A market economy operator undertakes activities whose incremental revenue exceeds their incremental costs. A market economy operator ignores costs which are unaffected by those activities. A service of general economic interest has special characteristics that set it apart from other services with positive impact on the economy. Having a positive impact is not enough.   Introduction National and regional authorities […]

A Market Operator, unlike a Public Authority, Does not Have to Treat all Customers Equally

In managing infrastructure, a public authority acts as a private operator when it seeks a reasonable return on its investment and also takes into account the alternative of not operating the infrastructure. The manager of an infrastructural project may charge different fees to different users to optimise usage and increase revenue.   Introduction This article reviews Commission decision 2015/506 concerning […]

Another Measure that Cannot Be Justified by the Logic of the Tax System

The granting of a tax exception is often found to constitute State aid. But the non-levying of a tax may also fall within the scope of Article 107(1). Competitors have more rights when the Commission does not open the formal investigation procedure.   IntroductionOn 25 November 2014, the Court of Justice, in case T-512/11, Ryanair v European Commission, annulled Commission […]

Case T-512/11 Ryanair : Commission’s ATT Ireland Decision Partly Annulled (ATT Act I)

On Tuesday (25.11.2014) the General Court delighted the StateAidHub team by dishing out a shiny new ruling just in time for our launch date. Here’s a quick first look at the ruling. This post takes a preliminary look at Case T-512/11 Ryanair Ltd v Commission.This is only one of the appeals being brought against the Commission’s dabblings with the Irish Air […]

Airport Operators and Budget Airlines [Commission Decision SA.23324: Finavia, Airpro and Ryanair at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport

During the past 18 months or so, the European Commission has launched more than 20 investigations in the funding of regional airports and the arrangements that these airports have concluded with budget airlines such as Ryanair. This posting analyses a very recent Commission decision which found that no State aid was granted to either the airport operator or Ryanair. This […]

- Ryanair ×

Market Economy Operator

Comparing prices charged by different airports is not a suitable method for detecting the existence of selective advantages. Introduction Airports enter into complex agreements with airlines. When airports are in public ownership or operate under a mandate by the state, their agreements with airlines may contain State aid. It is, however, very difficult to detect State aid in these agreements […]

The Private Investor Principle in Air Transport – Part I

Public funds managed by private airport operators can be classified as state resources. Prices charged by airport operators can be used as a benchmark for market prices only if their activities and size are comparable and their costs are not subsidised by State aid. Before a private investor enters into any commercial arrangement, it takes into account all relevant information, […]

PART I: Regional Development and i) Market Economy Operator Test, ii) Services of General Economic Interest

A market economy operator undertakes activities whose incremental revenue exceeds their incremental costs. A market economy operator ignores costs which are unaffected by those activities. A service of general economic interest has special characteristics that set it apart from other services with positive impact on the economy. Having a positive impact is not enough.   Introduction National and regional authorities […]

A Market Operator, unlike a Public Authority, Does not Have to Treat all Customers Equally

In managing infrastructure, a public authority acts as a private operator when it seeks a reasonable return on its investment and also takes into account the alternative of not operating the infrastructure. The manager of an infrastructural project may charge different fees to different users to optimise usage and increase revenue.   Introduction This article reviews Commission decision 2015/506 concerning […]

Another Measure that Cannot Be Justified by the Logic of the Tax System

The granting of a tax exception is often found to constitute State aid. But the non-levying of a tax may also fall within the scope of Article 107(1). Competitors have more rights when the Commission does not open the formal investigation procedure.   IntroductionOn 25 November 2014, the Court of Justice, in case T-512/11, Ryanair v European Commission, annulled Commission […]

Case T-512/11 Ryanair : Commission’s ATT Ireland Decision Partly Annulled (ATT Act I)

On Tuesday (25.11.2014) the General Court delighted the StateAidHub team by dishing out a shiny new ruling just in time for our launch date. Here’s a quick first look at the ruling. This post takes a preliminary look at Case T-512/11 Ryanair Ltd v Commission.This is only one of the appeals being brought against the Commission’s dabblings with the Irish Air […]

Airport Operators and Budget Airlines [Commission Decision SA.23324: Finavia, Airpro and Ryanair at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport

During the past 18 months or so, the European Commission has launched more than 20 investigations in the funding of regional airports and the arrangements that these airports have concluded with budget airlines such as Ryanair. This posting analyses a very recent Commission decision which found that no State aid was granted to either the airport operator or Ryanair. This […]

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.

Gastbeitrag einreichen

Melden Sie sich für unseren Newsletter an, um regelmäßig über unsere kommenden Konferenzen, Lexxion Trainings, Vor-Ort-Workshops und die neuesten Veröffentlichungen von Lexxion informiert zu werden.

Verpassen Sie keine Neuigkeiten und abonnieren Sie unseren kostenlosen Newsletter. Jetzt anmelden!