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

2. Juli 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – July 2015

gavel

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.de Wednesday 01/07/2015 Opinion in Case C-357/14 P Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Thursday 02/07/2015 Judgment in Joined cases T-425/04 RENV France v Commission, T-444/04 RENV Orange v Commission (General Court – Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) Wednesday 08/07/2015 Hearing in Case T-287/11 Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth […]

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29. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Levying of Charges to Maintain Equal Treatment Is Not Necessarily Selective

State Aid Blogs - SAH blogpost37 Hinkley Point C UK 2017

The standard of proof of whether a measure is selective depends on whether that measure is a scheme or a grant of individual aid. Measures providing for exemption are by definition selective. Measures that impose additional charges for the purpose of maintaining equality between operators are not necessarily selective even if the responsible authorities retain a degree of discretion in […]

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22. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Ex post Monitoring of a Risk Capital Fund

State Aid Blogs - 10.10. Stateaid deminimis calculator

Ex post monitoring will be pursued vigorously by the Commission. Irregularities in the implementation of State aid measures may lead to the opening of the formal investigation procedure. Introduction This article examines Commission decision concerning a UK risk capital scheme entitled Enterprise Capital Funds [SA.15373 and SA.33186]. The decision is the outcome of an investigation that was initiated after […]

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17. Juni 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

EStAL Best Reviewer Award 2014/2015

Last week our 13th Experts’ Forum on New Developments in European State Aid Law took place. From 10th to 12th June 2015 a group of enthusiastic professionals interested in State Aid gathered at the Club of the University Foundation in Brussels to discuss the most recent issues on the topic. In the realm of this conference, we were proud to announce our […]

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15. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Germany Scores a Hat-trick of Non-Aid Measures!

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost33 trade

At the end of April, the European Commission announced that seven measures were found not to constitute State aid because they could not be reasonably expected to affect cross-border trade. The finding of no affectation of trade is rare. That seven measures were thought not capable of affecting trade is very exceptional. Perhaps the Commission is trying to signal to […]

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8. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Perils of Ex Post Monitoring

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost4 2019 lexxion pari passu chemistry Investment

Greater use of the new General Block Exemption Regulation means fewer State aid measures subject to notification and ex ante assessment by the Commission. However, less ex ante control will be followed by more ex post control. Member States should be prepared for wider and more intrusive ex post monitoring. Introduction One of the cornerstones of the State Aid […]

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3. Juni 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – June 2015

gavel

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Thursday 04/06/2015 Judgment in Case C-15/14 P Commission v MOL (Court of Justice – First Chamber) Tuesday 09/06/2015 Hearing in Case T-515/13 Spain v Commission (General Court – Seventh Chamber) Wednesday 10/06/2015 Hearing in Case C-367/14 Commission v Italy (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Hearing in Case T-719/13 Lico Leasing and Pequeños y […]

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1. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Injection of Public Capital Can Be Free of State Aid

State Aid Blogs - m 1 4

Injection of public capital in an undertaking conforms with the market economy investor principle when: The public investment is equal and concomitant to private investment. The public investment has economic significance and is not followed by disengagement of private investors. The recipient undertaking is in a healthy financial position. The recipient undertaking compares favourably to its peers. The investment is […]

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27. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring Aid, Recovery of Aid and Procedural Rights

State Aid Blogs - m 13 2

Restructuring aid can finance any part of a restructuring plan. Compensatory measures initiated before the granting of restructuring aid can be taken into account as long as they are linked to the restructuring itself. Member States have to comply with the conditions defined in Commission decisions. They cannot justify non-compliance on the grounds of domestic institutional difficulties. Regional authorities that […]

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19. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Public Service Obligations: A Few More Mistakes that Can Be Avoided

State Aid Blogs - m 14 2

Even efficient companies will fail the 4th Altmark criterion if their costs are not proven to be comparable to those of a typical and well-equipped undertaking. Public funding of infrastructure is not State aid to users only if access is open to all. Public funding for training to raise social awareness is still State aid if it relieves companies of […]

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14. Februar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

An Assessment of the State Aid Consistency of Financial Instruments Supported by Structural and Investment Funds (Regulation 1303/2013)

coins on the table

Introduction Last week I reviewed the new State aid guidelines on risk finance. This week I will examine the provisions on financial instruments in the new structural and investment funds regulation. The regulation was published in the Official Journal just before Christmas. Both sets of rules have been updated on the basis of similar principles. The primary aim of both […]

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4. Februar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Guidelines on State Aid to Promote Risk Finance Investments

financial graph

Introduction On 15 January the Commission adopted the fourth set of guidelines for the programming period 2014-2020 [the first three were those on broadband, SGEI, and regional aid]. The latest guidelines replaced those on risk capital for SMEs. What is immediately noticeable from the title of the new guidelines is that they are not confined only to funding in […]

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28. Januar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Services of General Economic Interest and Horse Racing

horse racing

Introduction Public authorities often argue that the activities they support are important and that they should be considered as services of general economic interest. However, in many cases they are not. In this article I review the Commission Decision 2014/19 concerning a parafiscal levy that was intended to fund supposedly public service obligations assigned to French horse racing companies.[1] This Decision […]

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21. Januar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Possibly Conflicting Roles of EU Institutions on State Aid

EU flag

Introduction On 10 December 2013, the Court of Justice, in C‑272/12 P, wrote another chapter in the long-running case of the exemption from excise taxes for alumina producers in France, Ireland and Italy. This is not the last chapter. The Court annulled a judgment of the General Court and referred the case back to the General Court. In fact this […]

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10. Januar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Non-Equivalence of the Various Methods of Supporting Green Electricity

electrical sockets

Introduction Ever since the judgment of the Court of Justice in 2001 on PreussenElektra [case C-379/98], Member States have been grappling with the question of how to support electricity from renewable resources [green electricity] without granting State aid. In PreussenElektra the Court found that there was no transfer of state resources and no State aid, because the German government imposed […]

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2. Januar 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The New Rules on De minimis Aid for 2014-2020: Regulation 1407/2013

EU comission

Introduction[1] It is appropriate to start this year’s articles on State aid with an appraisal of one of the most important new legislative items for the period 2014-2020: the new de minimis rules. The European Commission adopted the new de minimis Regulation in mid-December and the formal text was published just before Christmas in the Official Journal of 24 December […]

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20. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Economically Rational Environmental Aid

water processing plant

Introduction A few months ago I wrote an article on this blog explaining the big puzzle of environmental State aid. Since the rules allow State aid which is only a proportion of the extra costs incurred by companies investing in environmentally friendly technology, it is puzzling why they make this investment. After all, they have the option of not incurring […]

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12. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Why Can the Commission Not be Consistent in its Analysis of Economic Activity and Affectation of Trade?

antique monument

Introduction If you ask a national official who deals with State aid to identify the most challenging aspects of working with State aid rules, the answer is likely to be “the concept of undertaking” and the “effect on trade”. Other aspects can also be challenging, but a national official is unlikely to agonise about the transfer of state resources, the […]

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6. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Non-notified State Aid and the Role of National Courts C 284/12, Deutsche Lufthansa v Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn

airplane on the runway

Introduction What prevents a Member State from granting State aid without first notifying it to the European Commission? Cynics would answer “nothing, in fact”. Indeed, nothing can stop a country that is determined to provide a subsidy. But after the judgment in case Lufthansa v Frankfurt Hahn Airport, the answer must be “unnecessary hassle”. Even if there is a slight […]

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29. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Private Investor Principle Applied to Loans [Commission Decision 2013/528]

ship in the shipyard

Introduction The State aid issue in this case is relatively straightforward. Nauta, a Polish shipyard, received a two-year loan from IDA, the state-owned Polish Investment Agency. Because Nauta ran into some financial trouble, the loan was extended for another two years. In Decision 2013/528, the Commission had to examine two questions: First, did the initial loan market conform? Second, if […]

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