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

14. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Altmark, again!

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Sectoral regulation is not the same as definition of public service obligation. Aid that favours a certain technology is incompatible with the internal market, unless it can be objectively justified. Introduction “Altmark” has become a permanent feature in the landscape of State aid. Its application was again one of the main issues of contention in six judgments rendered by […]

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12. Dezember 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Top 3 State Aid Blog Posts from 2015

fireworks

From Amazon’s ‘advance pricing agreement’ over State aid to the Hungarian electricity market to Black Cabs’ exclusive rights in London, our guest bloggers on the StateAidHub have shed light on various controversial State aid judgments and developments. View now the most popular posts of 2015. As 2015 and therefore the StateAidHub’s first year draws to a close, we thank […]

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8. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

i) New v Existing State Aid ii) Exemption from VAT and Attribution to Member States iii) The Duty of National Courts to Protect Competitors from Illegal State aid

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Aid that pre-exists the entry of a Member State into the EU is “existing” and does not have to be recovered. VAT exemptions authorised by the EU are not State aid. National courts must disregard national legal provisions that prevent them from acting against illegal aid. Introduction This article examines a variety of issues: when State aid is existing […]

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3. Dezember 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Emanuela Matei

The Interpretation of Conflicting Norms regarding the Validity of State Aid Infolding Contracts Must Be Consistent with the Safeguard of Individual Rights Created by EU State Aid Law (C 505/14, Klausner)

forest

The following blog post is another contributory piece by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher at the Centre of European Legal Studies, Bucharest. Matei holds a Juris Master in European Business Law (Lund University, June 2012), a Magister legum (Lund University, June 2010) and a BSc in Economics & Business Administration (Lund University, June 2009). We are very glad to welcome her […]

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1. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – December 2015

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Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog Thursday 07/12/2015 Judgment in Case T-242/12 – SNCF v Commission (General Court – Seventh Chamber) Thursday 17/12/2015 Judgment in […]

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1. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Investment and Operating Aid to Airports

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State aid is granted on the date the relevant public authority makes an irrevocable commitment to grant it or creates a legal entitlement for the beneficiary. Loans that impose public policy obligations on borrowers are not in conformity with the behaviour of a private investor. Introduction This is a rather long article because it examines a rich case that […]

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24. November 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Market Economy Investor Principle

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Public investment is free of State aid when it is made at the same time and on equal terms with investments by private investors. In the absence of an equivalent private investment, public investment does not constitute State aid when it is demonstrated ex ante that it is capable of generating market rates of return. Introduction Public authorities are […]

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16. November 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Special Tax Treatment to Alleviate Structural Disadvantages

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Favourable tax treatment to alleviate “structural disadvantages” suffered by certain companies is a selective measure that falls within the scope of Article 107(1). Introduction Member States use taxes not just to raise revenue but also as instruments of public policy. They impose taxes on activities they want to discourage [e.g. smoking, driving] and they relieve from taxes activities they […]

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11. November 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Dimitrios Kyriazis

Summary of Lexxion Seminar: State aid for Tax Measures on 26-27 October 2015, Brussels

Lexxion Seminar

The following is a summary of the main points that were presented and the issues that were discussed in the seminar on State aid in Tax Measures that was held in Brussels on 26-27 October 2015. The summary has been prepared for information purposes only and it is not meant to be a precise record of the proceedings of the […]

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10. November 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sale of Public Land and Conditions for Credible Expert Valuation

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The value of land corresponds to its market price that can be determined through open and unconditional bidding. If a price cannot be determined through bidding, then expert valuation is an alternative method for establishing the value of land. Expert valuation has to be carried out ex ante, by a recognised independent surveyor, on the basis of reasonable assumptions and […]

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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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22. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Not to Determine the Effect on Trade [Infrastructure for Tourism, Czech Republic (SA.35909)]

Prague panorama

Introduction Normally the articles in this blog identify landmark court rulings and seminal decisions of the Commission which set important precedents and provide useful guidance to State aid professionals and practitioners. This article deviates from this custom. It examines a recent case where the Commission concluded that public subsidies did not constitute State aid because intra-EU trade was not affected. […]

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15. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Private Vendor Principle: How to Organise a State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Assets

bank building

Introduction The private investor principle (PIP) or market economy investor principle is well established in the case law. A closely related concept is the private vendor principle (PVP). The PIP applies when a public authority assumes risk by investing in an undertaking, for example through the purchase of shares, injection of capital, granting of a loan or provision of […]

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