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

19. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

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

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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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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

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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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21. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Ex Post Evaluation of State Aid: A New Instrument

evaluation smileys

Introduction: The need for evaluation The State Aid Modernisation that was launched by the European Commission in May 2012 aims primarily to channel State aid to remedying genuine market failure. Subsequent policy documents have all been based on this underlying aim: to ensure that State aid is truly needed and effective in addressing market failure. The need and effectiveness of […]

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12. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Objectively Justified Pricing: The Market Economy Operator Principle

office table

Introduction: Objective justification of price differentiation In a landmark judgment 25 years ago [February 1988], the Court of Justice established that business behaviour that appears to deviate from normal market practices can still conform with the market economy operator principle [MEOP] which is a variation of the better known market economy investor principle [MEIP]. Both principles are based on the […]

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7. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sale of State-owned Airlines [Commission Decision SA.33337 on sale of subsidiaries by LOT Polish Airlines]

airplane on the runway

Introduction In the previous posting I examined the funding of a regional airport. In this posting I look at a case concerning an airline; more specifically, the sale of three subsidiaries of Polish airline LOT.[1] During the past five or so years, the Commission has had to deal with many measures involving different kinds of public support to airlines [e.g. Alitalia, […]

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30. März 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Airport Operators and Budget Airlines [Commission Decision SA.23324: Finavia, Airpro and Ryanair at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport

people on the airport

During the past 18 months or so, the European Commission has launched more than 20 investigations in the funding of regional airports and the arrangements that these airports have concluded with budget airlines such as Ryanair. This posting analyses a very recent Commission decision which found that no State aid was granted to either the airport operator or Ryanair. This […]

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25. März 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Where is the Money? The Link between Advantage and Transfer of State Resources

100 euro detail

On 19 March 2013, the Court of Justice delivered an important judgment in case C-399/10 P, Bouygues v European Commission concerning aid that was granted by France to France Telecom. The case was an appeal to an earlier ruling of the General Court in case T 425/04 France and Others v Commission which annulled Article 1 of Commission Decision 2006/621 […]

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16. März 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Loans, Guarantees and Credit Worthiness

contract signing

This post examines the two latest judgments of EU courts on State aid. They do not introduce any novel approaches to the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU but they confirm and clarify the obligations of the State in its dealings with undertakings. T-387/11, Nitrogenmuvek Vegyipari v European Commission On 27 February 2013, the General Court rendered its judgment in […]

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8. März 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

An “Alternative” Method of Valuation for State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Land

construction site

The obligation of the state to act as a private vendor When a public authority sells an asset to an undertaking, it must sell it at market price. The case law is clear on this point, especially with respect to the sale of public land or a building. Such a sale may constitute state aid “where it is not […]

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1. März 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Market Economy Vendor Principle: Sale of Public Land by the Dutch Municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg [Commission Decision SA.24123]

Cadastre

The previous posting examined a case where the European Commission applied the Market Economy Investor Principle [MEIP]. This is the principle that is used to determine whether there is state aid in commercial transactions between public authorities and undertakings. According to Article 345 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [TFEU], the European Union is neutral with […]

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18. Februar 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Curious Case of Applying the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Monopoly

monopoly game

On 3 October 2012, the European Commission concluded, in case SA.33988, that OPAP, the Greek operator of games of chance received no state aid because the Market Economy Investor Principle applied.[1] At first glance there is nothing unusual about a finding of no aid. But, as always, the devil is in the detail. OPAP holds the exclusive rights to organise various […]

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19. Februar 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Blog Intro

pen and paper

State Aid Uncovered State aid law and policy evolve all the time. The basic rules are fairly stable but their interpretation and application are frequently adjusted to take into account changes in market conditions, novel forms of cooperation between public authorities and companies and ever more complex funding instruments and arrangements. This blog tracks the evolution of state aid law […]

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