Europäisches Beihilfenrecht Blog

State Aid Uncovered Blog

In Lexxions Blog „State Aid Uncovered” veröffentlicht Prof. Phedon Nicolaides wöchentlich kritische Analysen zu den neuesten Urteilen und Entscheidungen zu staatlichen Beihilfen. Jeder Beitrag stellt die wichtigsten Punkte eines Gerichtsurteils oder einer EU-Kommissionsentscheidung vor, ordnet sie in den Kontext ähnlicher Rechtsprechung oder Praxis ein, bewertet die zugrundeliegende Argumentation und zeigt etwaige Ungereimtheiten oder Widersprüche auf.

In loser Folge werden auf diesem Blog auch Gastbeiträge von anderen Experten für staatliche Beihilfen veröffentlicht, welche die Inhalte der Blogbeiträge ergänzen.

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Professor at Maastricht University; Professor at University of Nicosia, and Academic Director at Lexxion Training

7. Januar 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Bail-in Is the Responsibility of Member States

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost1 Bail In 2

Commission approval of State aid to bail-out a bank does not give rise to right for compensation for creditors who are bailed-in. Introduction Investors in banks who lost their money have sought compensation both at EU and national level. So far, claims for damages at EU level have been unsuccessful. In some instances, the cases before EU and national courts […]

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27. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Lexxion Publisher

5 Most Read Articles on StateAidUncovered in 2019

State Aid Blogs - 5 most read articles 2019

Groundbreaking judgments like “Eesti Pagar”, applications of the private investor principle in air transport or questions of interpretation of the GBER besides many more, have moved and shaped this year’s judgments on State aid. Also Brexit and its meaning for State aid control in the UK has still been on everyone’s mind. See which articles by Prof. Phedon Nicolaides were […]

3 Kommentare

23. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Preferential Electricity Tariff Is Selective, Confers an Advantage and Distorts Competition

State Aid Blogs - StateAidUncovered blogpost53 Alouminion

A judicial decision on interim measures is a selective measure. The private investor test does not apply to judicial decisions on interim measures. Introduction On 11 December 2019, in case C‑332/18 P, Mytilinaios Anonymos Etairia — Omilos Epicheiriseon v European Commission, the Court of Justice probably wrote the last chapter in a long-running case concerning privileges that had been granted […]

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17. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Can a Tax (rather than a Tax Exemption) Confer a Selective Advantage?

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost52 Stateaid Lexxion TAX Water Spain European Commission

A tax that is levied at one level of government and does not apply to products and activities at a different level of government need not be selective. Introduction A tax exemption normally confers a selective advantage, unless it is justified by the logic of the tax. Counterintuitively, a tax itself can be selectively advantageous if its scope is too […]

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10. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Retroactive Application of the GBER

State Aid Blogs - m

When an aid scheme is adjusted by limiting the eligible beneficiaries, it becomes “new” aid and must be notified to the Commission. The GBER can be applied retroactively to aid that was granted before it came into force. Introduction In July 2016, Dilly’s Wellnesshotel wrote legal history for being the first undertaking to contest the application of the General […]

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5. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Will Brexit Usher in Protectionism?

State Aid Blogs - StateAid Blogpost Brexit EU Lexxion

The Financial Times reported on Friday, 29 November 2019, that the Conservative party in the UK announced that it would establish a different state aid system to “protect British industry after Brexit”. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was quoted to have said at a press conference on the same date that the new state aid system would make it “faster […]

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3. Dezember 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Separability of Economic from Non-economic Activities

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost50 2019 lexxion economy printing non economic Stateaid SGEI

Activities which are inseparable from the exercise of official powers are non-economic. Introduction Pure research whose results are widely disseminated is undoubtedly a non-economic activity. Research reports are often published on the internet. But the design and management of a research organisation’s website can be an economic activity. Plenty of private companies provide these services for a fee. Does […]

2 Kommentare

26. November 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How to Assess a Shareholder Loan

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost49 shareholder loan MEOP

A shareholder loan cannot be simply compared to a bank loan because the shareholder also benefits from improvements in the future profitability of the borrower. Introduction When a public authority grants a loan to a company, the methodology in the 2008 Commission communication on reference and discount rates can be used to determine whether the loan contains State aid. However, […]

2 Kommentare

19. November 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Compensation to a Toll Road Operator

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost48 toll road motorways Poland obligations StateAid

Contractual obligation to provide compensation that does not exceed the loss of income is not State aid. Introduction When is a company entitled to compensation by the state? The easy answer is “when the state is liable for damage”. However, it may be possible for a company to claim compensation from the state when the state has assumed contractual obligations. […]

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14. November 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Risk Finance

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost47 Finance lexxion GBER SMEs

Risk finance measures for the support for large enterprises or SMEs which operate for longer than seven years fall outside the GBER and must be notified individually to the Commission. Introduction Since the State aid modernisation and the new rules that were introduced in 2014, only a handful of risk finance measures [7-8?] have been notified to the European Commission […]

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9. November 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Using the Correct Methodology to Calculate Public Service Compensation

State Aid Blogs - stellrweb djb1whucfBY unsplash

Compensation for the extra costs of a public service obligation may include a reasonable profit that reflects the risk borne by the provider of the public service. Introduction The calculation of the amount of compensation for the extra costs of public service obligations can be difficult and tricky. In the absence of such calculation, aid to providers of […]

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6. November 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Unconditional and Unlimited Guarantees and their (In)Compatibility with the Internal Market

State Aid Blogs -

Operating aid is not normally compatible with the internal market. Therefore, State aid provided through state guarantees should not cover operating costs. State aid embedded in guarantees must be quantifiable so that its necessity and proportionality can be assessed. The assessment of State aid must be made within an EU context taking into account its impact on trade. Introduction […]

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30. Oktober 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Tax Inseparably Linked to State Aid

State Aid Blogs - Stateaid Blog43 Tax movie rent

Taxes which are inseparably linked with an aid measure are assessed together with the aid itself. An increase of the budget of an aid scheme by more than 20% constitutes a change of existing aid that must be notified to the Commission for prior authorisation. Introduction Taxpayers may not refuse to pay taxes on the grounds that the tax […]

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23. Oktober 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Public Service Obligations Must be Properly Defined and Selectivity Must be Proven [1]

State Aid Blogs - Stateaid blog42 Broadcasting

Neither the existence of market failure, nor national laws that designate a service to be in the general interest can replace an official act that assigns to one or more undertakings clearly defined public service obligations. Introduction The proper definition of public service obligations (PSOs) is an issue that arises with surprising regularity. It is surprising because numerous court […]

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16. Oktober 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Unlimited State Guarantees

State Aid Blogs - m 2 1

Unlimited state guarantees create a presumption that the recipient of the guarantee obtains an advantage in the form of cheaper credit. Any advantage in the form of lower risk in transactions with suppliers or clients has to be proven. Introduction State guarantees must be limited in time and amount and may cover only a specified event. Unlimited and general […]

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9. Oktober 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Ex ante Assessment of Future Profitability is Absolutely Necessary

State Aid Blogs - m 1 1

A private investor assesses the prospects of future profitability before it invests. The burden of proof lies with the Member State that claims it has acted as a private investor. Introduction The market economy investor principle is based on a simple premise: before you commit your money you need to check how much you are likely to get back. […]

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2. Oktober 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Compatibility of State Aid with the Internal Market: Lessons from “Hinkley Point C” – Part III

The objective of common interest that should be supported by State aid does not have to be an objective agreed by all Member States. Environmental protection Austria argued that the Commission had ignored the potential negative effects of the aid on the environment such as the storing of nuclear waste. The reply of the Court was that “(516) in […]

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25. September 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Compatibility of State Aid with the Internal Market: Lessons from “Hinkley Point C” – Part II

State Aid Blogs - SAH blogpost37 Hinkley Point C UK 2017

The objective of common interest that should be supported by state aid does not have to be an objective agreed by all Member States. Existence of market failure and need for aid Austria and Luxembourg claimed that the intervention by the UK was not necessary and that there was no evidence that the liberalised market for the generation and […]

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18. September 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Compatibility of State Aid with the Internal Market: Lessons from “Hinkley Point C” – Part I

State Aid Blogs - SAH blogpost37 Hinkley Point C UK 2017

The objective of common interest that should be supported by state aid does not have to be an objective agreed by all Member States. Introduction On 12 July 2018, the General Court ruled in a complex case brought by Austria and Luxembourg against Commission decision 2015/658 which had authorised State aid for Hinkley Point C, a new nuclear power […]

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11. September 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Selectivity Can Exist at Different Levels: The Case of the Spanish Tax Lease System

transport ship

A tax measure may be selective in relation to both intermediate and final beneficiaries. An undertaking may enjoy a selective advantage even if it passes all tax benefits to other parties. Introduction A measure that is not selective at one level may be selective at another level and a measure that is selective at one level can also be […]

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