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

30. April 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Explain its Decision

State Aid Blogs - StateAid Blogpost17 2019 Lexxion UPS DeutschePost Eu Commission State Aid

A Commission decision that affects the legal position of an undertaking is actionable before EU courts. The opening of the formal investigation procedure must lead the Member State concerned to suspend the aid measure and may result in a recovery ruling by a national court. The Commission must be consistent in its reasoning. If it cannot use certain information at […]

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23. April 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

State Control: The Case of EEG 2012

State Aid Blogs - 5 most read articles 2019

There is crucial difference between control by the state over resources and attribution to the state of the aid granting decision. Introduction According to the latest edition of the State aid Scoreboard, in 2017 Member States granted a total of EUR 105 billion of State aid to manufacturing and services. Of that amount, 58% or EUR 61 billion supported […]

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16. April 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Spanish Football Clubs Score against the Commission: a) Linked Advantages and Disadvantages Must be Assessed Together b) In Determining the Existence of an Advantage, the Commission Must Explain both what it Takes into Account and what it Ignores

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost15 Soccer loans Lexxion Spain EU Commission

State measures which are linked and produce both positive and negative effects, must be considered together to determine whether they confer a net advantage to undertakings. Counter-guarantees must be taken into account to determine the existence of advantage even if they are provisional. Introduction Member States have in a number of cases tried to defend tax reductions or tax […]

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9. April 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Boundary between State and Private Resources

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost14 StateAid Lexxion Money Eu Commission Bank Financial

Discretion in the form of intervention can remove it from the control of the state. Introduction Suppose a thug puts a gun to your head and demands your wallet. Because you have sentimental photos in your wallet, you offer instead the keys to your car. You would rather lose the car than the wallet. Can the thug claim in […]

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3. April 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Incentive Effect of Public Funding of Infrastructure in Tranches

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost13 StateAid motorway greece E65 EU Comission lexxion

Public funding of functionally and commercially severable parts of an infrastructure project may have incentive effect even after construction is completed on some of the parts. A subsidy for the operation of a toll motorway may not constitute State aid. Introduction State aid granted to a project that has already started lacks incentive effects and, therefore, cannot be found […]

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26. März 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

National Authorities Must Recover Aid they Grant Mistakenly

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost12 StateAid food bread eu small

Assurances from granting authorities cannot guarantee the legality of State aid. Aid recipients must verify that the aid is granted correctly. Introduction The Commission must stop its misguided policy of not making public the answers it provides to Member States on questions of interpretation of the General Block Exemption Regulation [GBER]. This is one of the consequences of a […]

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19. März 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Many Tax Rulings Do Not Make a Single Aid Scheme

State Aid Blogs - StateaidHub blogpost11 Lexxion 2019 Tax Commission EU judgement

The autonomy that Member States enjoy in the field of direct taxation must be exercised in compliance with EU State aid law. A State aid measure is considered to be a “scheme” when (a) no further implementing acts are necessary, (b) the granting authority has no discretion in how the measure is applied and (c) the measure defines the eligible […]

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13. März 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Can Incompatible State Aid Be Passed-on from one Company to another to Avoid Recovery?

State Aid Blogs - StateaidHub blogpost10 2019 commission judgement nvestment state aid lexxion

Introduction State aid that is incompatible with the internal market has to be paid back, unless the repayment would be contrary to a general principle of EU law. Last November the Court of Justice ruled in case C‑622/16 P, Scuola Elementare Maria Montessori v European Commission that “(79) the principle that ‘no one is obliged to do the impossible’ is among the […]

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5. März 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Much May a Non-Economic Entity Charge without Becoming an Undertaking?

State Aid Blogs - StateaidHub blogpost9 2019 lexxion education stateaid financing commission 2

The price should not cover more than 50% of the costs. Introduction An entity that does not make profit can still be an undertaking. However, an entity that charges a fee for its services is not necessarily an undertaking. The EU Court of Justice has never defined how low such a fee must be in order for that entity to […]

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27. Februar 2019 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

EU Rules do not Impose a Time Limit on the Power of National Courts to Deal with Non-notified Aid

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost8 Maritim Ferry Port StateAid Lexxion

State aid may affect trade even when the market concerned is not liberalised. This can happen when the aid recipient also has operations outside that market, which it can cross-subsidise. Claims for damages caused by illegal aid must be accorded the same treatment under national law as any other claim resulting from faulty decisions of the state. Introduction A […]

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30. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Puzzle of the State Acting as a Regulator

State Aid Blogs - joao silas UGQoo2nznz8 unsplash

When the state exercises its regulatory tasks, it does not have to demand fees and therefore it does not forgo potential state resources. Introduction A few weeks ago the Commission considered whether the regulatory actions of the state fell within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU. In decision SA.42028 concerning aid to Yliopiston Apteekki Oy in Finland, the Commission […]

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23. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Danish Horse Racing

State Aid Blogs - horse betting Denmark State Aid

Taxes hypothecated to State aid measures fall within the scope of the assessment of the compatibility of those measures. Introduction Operating aid is not normally allowed. Yet, in decision SA.48604 concerning horse-racing betting in Denmark the Commission appears to have authorised operating aid.[1] This measure was approved within six months. In the post-SAM, it must be one of the […]

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16. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Selectivity Requires Comparison

State Aid Blogs - ah life rd2jRzEum9g unsplash

To determine whether a measure is selective it is necessary to compare the beneficiary companies to other companies which are in a similar situation and determine whether the latter receive the same advantage. Introduction[1] On 20 December 2017, the Court of Justice delivered three judgments in appeals against rulings of the General Court concerning the expansion of digital terrestrial television […]

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9. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Structural Disadvantages and Regional Aid

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost35 port concessions

Aid that seeks to neutralise a structural disadvantage still confers an advantage. Aid that seeks to remedy market failure is selective. State aid that is compatible with the internal market must be necessary to achieve an objective of the Treaty and be capable of incentivising a change in the behaviour of the recipient undertakings. Introduction On 13 December 2017, […]

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2. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

PART II: Concessions and State Aid: Does the State Act as a Regulator or Market Operator?

State Aid Blogs - marcin jozwiak 44YvpqQ595w unsplash

When Member States act as regulators they need not maximise revenue from the granting of concessions rights. When Member States act as regulators they must grant concession rights on the basis of procedures which are competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional. Part II: Public procurement principles[1] Principles for selection of concession holders The Commission examined also, in addition to the […]

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27. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

PART I: Concessions and State Aid: Does the State Act as a Regulator or Market Operator?

State Aid Blogs - m 36

When Member States act as regulators they need not maximise revenue from the granting of concessions rights. When Member States act as regulators they must grant concession rights on the basis of procedures which are competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional. Introduction Is it possible for a public authority to grant State aid through a defective procurement procedure? The answer […]

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21. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Lexxion Publisher

Top 5 State Aid Uncovered Posts in 2017

State Aid Blogs - m 1 2

Questions around grants for R&D&I projects, economic activities of religious establishments or concession agreements 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 been on everyone’s mind. See which articles by Prof. Phedon Nicolaides were the most popular ones in 2017. We have […]

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19. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sport and Trade

State Aid Blogs - m 2 2

State aid has a purely local impact when i) the beneficiaries supply goods or services to a limited area within a Member State, ii) they are unlikely to attract customers from other Member States and iii) there is no inducement for cross-border investment or establishment. Introduction The article this week continues with the theme of affectation of trade that […]

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12. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How to Determine whether State Aid Affects Trade

State Aid Blogs - 12.12.17cross border trade StateAid

Article 107(1) requires the assessment of both the direct and indirect impact of a public measure on cross-border trade. The direct impact is the effect on the cross-border movement of products or customers of the aid recipient or of its competitors. The indirect impact is the effect on the cross-border movement of the aid recipient itself or its competitors. […]

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5. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Imputability of an Aid Measure to the State Does not Require a Counterfactual

State Aid Blogs - 05.12.Imputability of Aid State aidz

The fact that the state owns an undertaking is not enough to prove that the decisions of that undertaking can be attributed to the state. However, it is sufficient that the state was involved in the particular decision that transferred state resources for the benefit of another undertaking. Introduction Several recent articles on this blog have examined the concept […]

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