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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2. February 2021  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Helsinki Busses, Loans, Article 93 and Indemnification
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost5 Helsinki bus
Bus transportation provided by public authorities constitutes economic activity. Loans given by a public authority to its transport unit have to be priced at market rates. The market value of public assets sold to third parties has to reflect any state indemnities. Temporary Framework The European Commission announced on 28 January 2021 a fifth amendment to the Temporary Framework. [1] […]
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26. January 2021  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Training and State Resources
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost4 training
The definition of quality indicators and the establishment of certificates of quality do not amount to control by the state over the resources belonging to non-state entities. Introduction Consider the case of a public university which decides to finance the proposal of one of its researchers to launch a research project in collaboration with a private company. For sure the […]
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19. January 2021  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Funding of Public Hospitals
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost3 Hospitals
Public healthcare provided in accordance with the principle of social solidarity is not economic in nature. Introduction There are two sectors where economic and non-economic activities mix and cause potential State aid problems: healthcare and education. Healthcare and education provided by public institutions do not differ much from healthcare and education provided by private institutions. The critical difference is not […]
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12. January 2021  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A First Evaluation of Covid-19 State Aid
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 Covid
There is a significant variation across Member States in terms of the number of aid measures as well as the amount of aid. Introduction On 17 December 2020, the European Parliament published a report evaluating the impact of State aid to combat covid-19.[1] The report was requested by the committee responsible for economic policy. The report is probably the first […]
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5. January 2021  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

One Agreement, Two Parallel Systems: Subsidies in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost1 Brexit
The agreement on subsidies allows the UK to deviate from EU State aid rules. Introduction After the exit of the United Kingdom [UK] from the European Union [EU] on 31 January 2020, EU State aid rules continued to apply to the UK during a transitional period that came to an end on 31 December 2020. In the closing days of […]
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28. December 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Time Horizon of a Private Investor
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost51
A public authority that claims that it invests for the long term, must still prove that its investment is likely to be profitable. Introduction Public authorities may invest in private companies. However, they need to behave as private investors otherwise they confer an advantage that constitutes State aid. In their defence, public authorities claiming that they act as private investors, […]
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21. December 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Attribution to the State does not necessarily Imply Control by the State
State Aid Blogs - towel 1838210 1920 1
Prices fixed by the state do not necessarily confer control to the state over the private resources which are used to pay those prices. Introduction Judging from how many times EU courts have been asked to interpret the concept of state resources, it seems that one of the most difficult aspects of Article 107(1) TFEU is to determine whether funding […]
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15. December 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Law, Economics and Art of Compensation for Public Service Obligations
State Aid Blogs - post sign 1893086 1920 1
State aid in the form of compensation for public service obligations must exclude any intangible benefits from the obligation, but may include reasonable profit. The Commission guidelines for State aid in agriculture and forestry, the block exemption regulations covering agriculture, forestry, fishery and aquaculture, and the Regulation on de minimis aid for fishery and aquaculture have been prolonged to 31 […]
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8. December 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part II)
State Aid Blogs - container 1638068 1920
For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. [In case you have missed part I, you can access it here.] Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the […]
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1. December 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part I)
State Aid Blogs - container 1638068 1920
For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the granting of compensation to an undertaking for the provision of SGEI must […]
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1. September 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Pari Passu Investments
State Aid Blogs - money 3115984 1920
Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 28 August 2020: 270* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 28; Article 107(3)(b): 228; Article 107(3)(c): 21 Four Member States have implemented 15 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy & Poland. – Average number of measures per Member State: 9.6 – Median number of measures […]
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25. August 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Non-economic Nature of Certain IT Services for Higher Education
State Aid Blogs - ipad 820272 1920 1
Publicly funded educational services are not economic in nature. Activities intrinsically linked to public tasks are not economic in nature. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 21 August 2020: 262* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 28; Article 107(3)(b): 220; Article 107(3)(c): 20 Four Member States have implemented 16 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, […]
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18. August 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

MEIP-Compliant Bank Recapitalisation: CEC Bank
State Aid Blogs - money 1064126 1920
An investor who is already a shareholder would take into account not only the return on new investment but also the impact on the overall profitability of the company in which capital is injected. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 14 August 2020: 252* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 27; Article 107(3)(b): 211; Article […]
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11. August 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Act in Accordance with the Principle of Proportionality
State Aid Blogs - audit 3929140 1920
The opening of a formal investigation obliges Member States to suspend implementation of their State aid measures. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 7 August 2020: 241* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 25; Article 107(3)(b): 203; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Four Member States have implemented 15 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Denmark, Italy & […]
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4. August 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Draft Regional Aid Guidelines: Simpler and Clearer
Regional Aid
Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 31 July 2020: 235* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 24; Article 107(3)(b): 198; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Five Member States have implemented 13 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy & Poland. – Average number of measures per Member State: 8.3 – Median number of measures per […]
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21. July 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Taxation of Multinational Companies: The Apple Case – A Political Setback for the Commission, but a Victory on Principle
Mac
Defects, incompleteness and inconsistencies in tax rulings are not sufficient to prove the existence of an advantage in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 17 July 2020: 213* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 21; Article 107(3)(b): 179; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Five Member States have implemented 13 or more […]
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14. July 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

2019 Competition Report
report
The Annual Competition Report is a useful document, but it should provide more information on the results of the ex post evaluations and ex post monitoring. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 10 July 2020: 202* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 20; Article 107(3)(b): 171; Article 107(3)(c): 17 Six Member States have implemented 11 […]
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7. July 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Third Amendment to the Temporary Framework & Prolongation of the GBER, De Minimis Regulation and Guidelines
european commission
Micro and small enterprises in difficulty are no longer excluded from the Temporary Framework. Undertakings in difficulty as a result of COVID-19 are no longer excluded from the GBER and Guidelines. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 3 July 2020: 185* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 17 Article 107(3)(b): 155; Article 107(3)(c): 16 Five […]
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30. June 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Health Insurance Based on Social Solidarity Is Non-economic
insurance protected
I am grateful to Peter Staviczky for comments on an earlier version of this article. I am, of course, solely responsible for the views expressed here. Public funding of health insurance systems based on social solidarity does not constitute State aid. Limited competition for the purpose of increasing efficiency does not affect the non-economic nature of such systems. Update on […]
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23. June 2020  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission’s White Paper on Foreign Subsidies: A Real Problem that Needs Sharper Tools
State Aid Blogs - coins pixa
The European Commission proposes new instruments to counter unfair foreign subsidies and acquisition of European companies. Temporary Framework: Number of approved Covid-19 measures, as of 20 June 2020: 164* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 14; Article 107(3)(b): 137; Article 107(3)(c): 15 Fifteen measures support R&D, testing or production of Covid-19 related products. Three measures support recapitalisation. The Member States with the […]
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