State Aid Law Blog

State Aid Uncovered Blog

In Lexxion’s State Aid Uncovered blog, Prof. Phedon Nicolaides publishes weekly critical analyses of recent State aid judgments and decisions. Each post presents the key points of a court judgment or EU Commission decision, places it in the context of similar case law or practice, assesses the underlying reasoning and highlights any inconsistencies or contradictions.

Guest contributions from other State aid experts will also be published on the blog at irregular intervals to complement the content of the blog posts.

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26. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

i) Compensation Can Be State Aid ii) Failure to Act
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 23
Introduction This article reviews two judgments concerning a claim that compensation does not constitute State aid and a complaint that the Commission had failed to act, respectively. The latter case is particularly interesting because it is probably the only judgment in the past decade or two that the Court of Justice has actually upheld a claim that the Commission breached […]
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19. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Funding of Healthcare Services Based on the Principle of Social Solidarity Is not State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 21
Introduction In June 2016, the Commission received a complaint from the Medical Chamber of Slovenia – a professional organisation of private medical doctors and dentists practicing in Slovenia – concerning alleged State aid granted by Slovenia to public hospitals and public healthcare centres. With decision SA.45844, the Commission recently decided that the public funding of public hospitals and healthcare centres […]
read more
No Comments
12. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support Production of Penicillin in the EU
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 19
Introduction The Commission’s block exemption regulations and the guidelines do not cover exhaustively State aid for all conceivable policy objectives. For example, there are no specific rules on investment subsidies for large enterprises in non-assisted regions. This does not mean that Member States may not grant State aid to a large company to manufacture a product they consider important. Rather, […]
read more
No Comments
5. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support “Applied Research” in Solid-State Batteries
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 11
Introduction France notified a measure to grant State aid to ProLogium for the implementation of the Promotheus R&D project which concerned the development of solid-state batteries [SSB] for electric vehicles. ProLogium is a large enterprise with 758 employees. The Commission approved the measure in decision SA.106740.[1] The aid measure has several unusual features. First, ProLogium committed to disseminate the scientific […]
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29. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

An Unusual SGEI
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 16
Introduction Member States are free to determine what the regard as a service of general economic interest [SGEI]. The Commission may only check whether the definition is free of manifest error and that any compensation that is provided conforms with the conditions laid down in the 2012 SGEI package. Member States commit a manifest error when they designate as SGEI […]
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29. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Territorial Tax Systems May also Tax Profits Diverted Abroad
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 15
Introduction Taxes are burdens on undertakings. They cannot be State aid. However, tax exemptions or reductions can be State aid if they cannot be objectively justified. When a tax measure is in the form of a reduction or exemption, it is relatively easy to establish its selectivity in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. However, when a tax is levied […]
read more
No Comments
16. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

European Court of Auditors, Report on the Implementation of the EU Budget for the 2023 Financial Year, 10 October 2024
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 10
The annual report on the 2023 EU budget by the European Court of Auditors finds that in the field of State aid national authorities wrongly supported ineligible costs. Errors in public procurement and State aid were the largest source of irregularities. Main findings concerning public procurement and State aid “The risk of error is high for expenditure subject to complex […]
read more
No Comments
15. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Revenue from a Compulsory Charge Is a State Resource
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 14
Introduction On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice [CJEU] delivered four judgments in four related cases: C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission C-794/21 P, Germany v Commission C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte v Commission All cases concerned appeals against the corresponding judgments of the General Court by which it dismissed the actions for annulment of […]
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No Comments
8. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Who is “Interested Party” that Can Challenge a Commission Decision and when Must the Commission Open the Formal Investigation Procedure
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 13
Introduction On 5 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU [CJEU] delivered two judgments on the two most frequent procedural issues on State aid: Who has standing to challenge a Commission decision and when the Commission is obliged to initiate the formal investigation procedure. These two issues are closely connected. Those whose interests are harmed by State aid […]
read more
No Comments
1. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to the Operator of a Legal Monopoly
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 9
Introduction In some Member States, the provision of potable water to households is a “closed” sector. This means that public funding of the operations of the water provider does not constitute State aid. However, according to the case law of the Court of Justice, for a sector to be considered closed to trade and competition it is not sufficient that […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

26. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

i) Compensation Can Be State Aid ii) Failure to Act
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 23
Introduction This article reviews two judgments concerning a claim that compensation does not constitute State aid and a complaint that the Commission had failed to act, respectively. The latter case is particularly interesting because it is probably the only judgment in the past decade or two that the Court of Justice has actually upheld a claim that the Commission breached […]
read more
No Comments
19. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Funding of Healthcare Services Based on the Principle of Social Solidarity Is not State Aid
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 21
Introduction In June 2016, the Commission received a complaint from the Medical Chamber of Slovenia – a professional organisation of private medical doctors and dentists practicing in Slovenia – concerning alleged State aid granted by Slovenia to public hospitals and public healthcare centres. With decision SA.45844, the Commission recently decided that the public funding of public hospitals and healthcare centres […]
read more
No Comments
12. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support Production of Penicillin in the EU
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 19
Introduction The Commission’s block exemption regulations and the guidelines do not cover exhaustively State aid for all conceivable policy objectives. For example, there are no specific rules on investment subsidies for large enterprises in non-assisted regions. This does not mean that Member States may not grant State aid to a large company to manufacture a product they consider important. Rather, […]
read more
No Comments
5. November 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to Support “Applied Research” in Solid-State Batteries
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 11
Introduction France notified a measure to grant State aid to ProLogium for the implementation of the Promotheus R&D project which concerned the development of solid-state batteries [SSB] for electric vehicles. ProLogium is a large enterprise with 758 employees. The Commission approved the measure in decision SA.106740.[1] The aid measure has several unusual features. First, ProLogium committed to disseminate the scientific […]
read more
No Comments
29. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

An Unusual SGEI
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 16
Introduction Member States are free to determine what the regard as a service of general economic interest [SGEI]. The Commission may only check whether the definition is free of manifest error and that any compensation that is provided conforms with the conditions laid down in the 2012 SGEI package. Member States commit a manifest error when they designate as SGEI […]
read more
No Comments
29. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Territorial Tax Systems May also Tax Profits Diverted Abroad
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 15
Introduction Taxes are burdens on undertakings. They cannot be State aid. However, tax exemptions or reductions can be State aid if they cannot be objectively justified. When a tax measure is in the form of a reduction or exemption, it is relatively easy to establish its selectivity in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. However, when a tax is levied […]
read more
No Comments
16. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

European Court of Auditors, Report on the Implementation of the EU Budget for the 2023 Financial Year, 10 October 2024
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 10
The annual report on the 2023 EU budget by the European Court of Auditors finds that in the field of State aid national authorities wrongly supported ineligible costs. Errors in public procurement and State aid were the largest source of irregularities. Main findings concerning public procurement and State aid “The risk of error is high for expenditure subject to complex […]
read more
No Comments
15. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Revenue from a Compulsory Charge Is a State Resource
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 14
Introduction On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice [CJEU] delivered four judgments in four related cases: C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission C-794/21 P, Germany v Commission C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte v Commission All cases concerned appeals against the corresponding judgments of the General Court by which it dismissed the actions for annulment of […]
read more
No Comments
8. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Who is “Interested Party” that Can Challenge a Commission Decision and when Must the Commission Open the Formal Investigation Procedure
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 13
Introduction On 5 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU [CJEU] delivered two judgments on the two most frequent procedural issues on State aid: Who has standing to challenge a Commission decision and when the Commission is obliged to initiate the formal investigation procedure. These two issues are closely connected. Those whose interests are harmed by State aid […]
read more
No Comments
1. October 2024  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid to the Operator of a Legal Monopoly
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 9
Introduction In some Member States, the provision of potable water to households is a “closed” sector. This means that public funding of the operations of the water provider does not constitute State aid. However, according to the case law of the Court of Justice, for a sector to be considered closed to trade and competition it is not sufficient that […]
read more
No Comments
Next Page »

25. September 2024  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

The Cumulation of State Aid Granted by Different Member States — The Landwärme Case
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered photos 7
Guest State Aid Blog by Professor Leigh Hancher, Nicole Robins and Dr Philipp Schliffke[1] 1 Introduction The Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (‘RED II’) states that ‘the promotion of the production and use of biomethane, its injection into a natural gas grid and cross-border trade create a need to ensure proper accounting of renewable energy as well as avoiding double incentives […]
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16. November 2023  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Michał Bernat

The Interplay of R&D Works and Formal Incentive Effect Rules
State Aid Blogs - Untitled design 12
The Interplay of R&D Works and Formal Incentive Effect Rules Michał Bernat.1 The issue mentioned in the title appears at first sight rather uncontroversial, as it is instinctively understood that research and development (R&D) works do not form part of an investment towards which they are directed, but this brief note raises certain issues arising in that respect which have […]
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30. March 2023  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

A Visionary XXX FIDE Congress Approaching
State Aid Blogs - iuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
We’re happy to announce that Lexxion publisher has become a media partner to the FIDE Congress, one of the most distinguished events on EU law. Of particular interest for the readers of the State Aid blog and the EStAL quarterly is the second topic of the congress, dedicated to the new geopolitical dimension of the EU competition and trade policies. […]
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30. June 2022  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Further Views on Editorial by Andreas Bartosch (EStAL 1/2022, 1)
State Aid Blogs - Guest posts 3
Reading the Editorial by Andreas Bartosch (EStAL 1/2022, 1), I feel tempted – not to worship Satan or the GBER, but to add some more colours to the picture drawn up by the esteemed colleague. It is true that the Block Exemption Regulations were intended to save the Commission Services from „lästigem Alltagsgerümpel“ (“boring routine rubbish”, as Andreas Bartosch dubbed […]
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27. May 2022  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

How to approach the risk of carbon lock-in effects in state aid analysis?
State Aid Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 8
A recent FSR Debate[1] held on 4 May examined the key question of how policymakers and regulators can avoid carbon lock-in jeopardising the attainment of the European Union’s ambitious energy and climate targets. Carbon lock-in refers to situations where emissions-intensive energy assets continue to be used even when low-carbon and socially more beneficial assets are available.  This is a controversial […]
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19. August 2021  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

The European Commission’s Opening Decision in the German Lignite Phase-Out Case – Part II.
State Aid Blogs - koenig2 dominik vanyi Mk2ls9UBO2E unsplash
The article is based on a legal opinion, that was given to LEAG. Doubts regarding the existence of an advantage – continued Compensation amounts based on a MEO settlement agreement An essential component of the compensation covering the full scope of any damages caused to the operators affected by the early closure is also the avoidance of legal and factual […]
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12. August 2021  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

The European Commission’s Opening Decision in the German Lignite Phase-Out Case – Part I.
State Aid Blogs - koenig1 artyom korshunov NWByxwVN J0 unsplash
The article is based on a legal opinion, that was given to LEAG. Introduction The European Green Deal envisages a clean and decarbonised energy sector with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[1] These ambitious objectives entrust the Member States with enormous tasks in connection with the transformation process, which must always be designed in a proportionate manner. For this purpose, […]
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29. July 2021  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Pre- Notifications, Preliminary Investigations and the Rights of Third Parties in State Aid Procedures – Beware of the Black Hole!
State Aid Blogs - nicholas doherty pONBhDyOFoM unsplash
The persistently cautious approach of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to recognizing any really meaningful rights for third parties in State aid proceedings before the European Commission as well as in judicial proceedings is well-known and frequently criticized. With the recent adoption of the new Climate Law at the end of June and the official launch […]
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15. July 2021  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Public Support to Ultrafast Networks in the Italian NRRP
State Aid Blogs - sara gobbato post john barkiple l090uFWoPaI unsplash 1
As part of the investments to support the digitisation, innovation and competitiveness of the production system[1], the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) has allocated €6.71 billion for interventions in favor of ultra-fast networks (ultra-broadband and 5G)[2]. The amount will be deployed by 2026 to achieve the objectives defined in the “Italian Strategy for ultra-broadband”[3] in accordance with the EU […]
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8. July 2021  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Alexander Rose

The UK’s New Subsidy Control Bill: Targeting a Faster, More Permissive Regime Than EU State Aid Rules
The long awaited Subsidy Control Bill has been published by the UK Government with bold promises that it will “create a new system for subsidies that can enable key domestic priorities, such as levelling up economic growth across the UK and driving our green industrial revolution“.  In this article we identify the main changes immediately emerging from the draft legislation, […]
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