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.

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

12. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A National Measure that Does Not Apply at Regional Level Is Not Necessarily Selective

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Where there is a constitutional division of tax competences, different authorities may tax similar activities at different rates. Introduction This article examines Commission decision SA.34469 on differential tax rates for online and land-based gambling in Spain.[1] In the Spanish political system, regions that have the status of Autonomous Communities have powers of taxation. The issue at hand was which authority […]

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6. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

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

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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 […]

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29. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Do Free but Compulsory Tests Confer a Selective Advantage?

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State aid rules apply to measures which are either harmonised at EU level or are left to the discretion of Member States. The protection of public health is no sufficient reason for removing a public measure from the scope of Article 107(1). The fact that undertakings are obliged by law to comply with certain tests does not justify the subsidisation […]

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27. April 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – May 2015

gavel

Interested in #Stateaid? Get in touch and write a blog post or a comment for the hub! Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Wednesday 06/05/2015 Judgement in Case C-674/13 Commission v Germany (Court of Justice – Second Chamber) Hearing, Joined Cases T-50/06 RENV II, T-69/06 RENVII Ireland v Commission, Aughinish Alumina v Commission (General Court – First Chamber, Extended Composition) Wednesday 13/05/2015 Judgement in Case […]

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20. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Land Development

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost47 Finance lexxion GBER SMEs

The sale of land and buildings owned by a public authority conforms with the market economy operator principle when i) it is profitable, ii) there is no alternative transaction that is economically more attractive, and iii) the sale is as profitable as similar transactions concluded at the same time. Introduction The article examines Commission decision 2015/507 concerning the sale […]

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13. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

PART II: Green Electricity and Reduction of Energy Taxes for Energy-Intensive Users

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Part II: Support of electricity production from renewable energy sources is normally compatible with the internal market. Reduction of taxes on electricity used by energy-intensive industries is allowed only for certain sectors exposed to international trade and only when they bear a certain cost. Taxes on imported electricity normally infringe free-trade and non-discrimination provisions, unless commensurate benefits are extended to […]

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7. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Green Electricity and Reduction of Energy Taxes for Energy-Intensive Users

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Support of electricity production from renewable energy sources is normally compatible with the internal market. Reduction of taxes on electricity used by energy-intensive industries is allowed only for certain sectors exposed to international trade and only when they bear a certain cost. Taxes on imported electricity normally infringe free-trade and non-discrimination provisions, unless commensurate benefits are extended to imported electricity. […]

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1. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

State Guarantees

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost39 promotionalbank

The amount of State aid in a guarantee that makes possible the granting of a loan to a well-collateralised firm in difficulty is not the difference in premium but the difference in interest rates. Beneficiaries of guarantees not notified to the Commission do not have any remedy under EU law. Introduction Last week’s article examined State aid in the […]

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30. März 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – April 2015

gavel

Got something to say about State Aid? Want to write something on our Blog? Get in touch with us at Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Thursday 16/04/2015 Judgment in Case C-690/13 Trapeza Eurobank Ergasias (Court of Justice – Ninth Chamber) Monday 20/04/2015 Hearing in Case C-357/14 P Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Wednesday 22/04/2015 Hearing in Case T-499/12 HSH Investment Holdings Coinvest-C and […]

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24. März 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Loans for SMEs

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Low-interest loans may be used to support investments. The granting of de minimis aid through loans is possible only if loans are secured against collateral. The 2008 Commission Communication on interest rates does not apply to subordinated, non-collateralised loans. Introduction “Investment for growth” is the slogan which seems to be on everybody’s lips in Brussels. Last Friday, the European […]

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11. Oktober 0213 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure

gavel on a laptop

Introduction The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]

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4. Oktober 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Offsetting of a Structural Disadvantage Is still State Aid

scale and a book

Introduction Normally it is conceptually and technically fairly easy to determine whether an undertaking benefits from a public measure. However, this task becomes considerably more difficult in two situations: i) when a public authority claims that it acts like a private investor and ii) when a public measure is intended to compensate for a disadvantage suffered by the beneficiary undertaking […]

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26. September 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Emerging Doctrine of Inseparability and Compensation for Public Service Obligations [T-347/09, Germany v Commission]

hands in a forest

Introduction In the landmark judgment in Leipzig Halle, the General Court stated that infrastructure which is inseparable from economic activity is itself economic and its public funding can fall in principle within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU. The Court of Justice has confirmed this principle. On 12 September 2013, the General Court in its judgment in case T-347/09, Germany […]

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14. September 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Privatisation of Aeroportos de Portugal: Conflict between the National Economic Adjustment Programme and State Aid Rules?

people at the airport

Background Portugal notified to the Commission the privatisation of the “Aeroportos de Portugal” [ANA] for reasons of legal certainty [SA.36197].[1] ANA is the operator of most Portuguese airports. It manages eight airports across Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Beja, and 4 airports in the Azores) that account for the vast majority of the commercial air traffic in the country. It is worth […]

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2. September 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Altmark and Public Procurement: Definition and Award of Contracts

handshake

Introduction Ever since the Court of Justice ruled on Altmark ten years ago there has been a growing literature on the specific conditions that have to be satisfied so that public assistance to a provider of services of general economic interest [SGEI] does not constitute state aid. In this context, the relationship between the Altmark criteria and the public procurement […]

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23. August 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Selectivity and Administrative Discretion

computer keyboard

On 18 July 2013, in case C-6/12, the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered a judgment on an interesting aspect of the concept of selectivity.[1] The judgment concerned a request for preliminary ruling in a dispute between “P Oy”, a Finnish company, and Finnish tax authorities. The tax authorities refused to allow P Oy to deduct losses incurred in […]

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15. August 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Confusion between Necessity and Proportionality of State Aid [Case SA.35738: Public Funding of Port Infrastructure]

port

Introduction Several postings in this blog have examined cases concerning funding of port, airport or sport infrastructure. These cases have all had interesting peculiarities. Some involved no state aid because public authorities acted as private investors, while in other cases the funding arrangements were designed in such a way so that the state aid to operators would not spill over […]

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14. Juli 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Flexible Boundary between Economic and Non-economic Activities

gavel, animal figures, euros

This is a rather long posting divided into two parts both of which deal with the concept of economic activity. In part I, I analyse two cases outside the field of state aid that dealt with the concepts of undertaking and economic activity. Both of them originated in legal proceedings initiated before Austrian courts. In part II (that will come […]

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5. Juli 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How to Use Economic Tools to Ensure the Proportionality of Aid (Commission Decision SA.34938 on a gas storage facility in Poland)

industry

Introduction Normally, economic analysis is used by the Commission to find out whether a measure confers an abnormal advantage to an undertaking. This would be the case, for example, when a public authority makes an investment that generates a return that falls below what the market would demand. The recipient undertaking derives an abnormal advantage [i.e. an advantage that would […]

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27. Juni 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Public Support without State Aid

tablet with chart tabelle

Public measures that do not constitute state aid are as interesting as the measures that do provide aid. This posting examines two measures that have been found not to fall within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU because they do not satisfy one or more of the four criteria laid down in that Article. Non-economic activity: Commission Decision SA.35529 on […]

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