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.

Subscribe now!

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. October 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Attempting to Minimise Past State aid Is of No Interest to a Private Investor

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost43 privateinvestor

A public authority acting as a private investor ignores past State aid. Introduction It is now a settled principle that when a public authority intends or pretends to act as a private investor it must not take into account any past aid it has granted to the company in which it wants to invest. On 19 September 2019, the General Court […]

No Comments

8. October 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Service Obligations, Duration of Entrustment and Reasonable Profit

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost41 LNGterminal

The duration of entrustment should not exceed the economic life of the investment and the rate of return should reflect the commercial risk of that investment. Introduction Is a 55-year entrustment through a direct award compatible with EU rules? And is a profit rate that exceeds the risk-free rate of return reasonable? These are some of the questions that the […]

No Comments

1. October 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Enforcement of State Aid Rules by National Courts

Private enforcement has increased, but damages for illegal granting of State aid have been successfully claimed in just one case. Introduction According to the annual competition report that was published in July, Member States use the GBER to implement 96% of their new aid measures.[1] This impressive outcome should be seen in conjunction with the recent rulings of the Court […]

3 Comments

24. September 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

“Invest-NL”: A New Promotional Bank

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost39 promotionalbank

A state-owned promotional or development bank can pursue public policy objectives and also invest on terms which are acceptable to private investors. Introduction During the past decade or so several Member States have established “promotional” or “development” banks for the purpose of investing where the market does not. Private investors may be reluctant to commit their money for a variety […]

No Comments

17. September 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Sale of a Bank without State aid

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost38 saleofbank

The sale must be open, transparent, non-discriminatory, unconditional and the winning bid must be the offer with the highest price. Introduction The German HSH Nordbank used to be the largest provider of ship finance in the world. It had commercial presence in over 20 major financial centres. Before the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, HSH Nordbank had a […]

No Comments

10. September 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Individually Notified Regional Aid

All individual awards of aid granted to the same project over a three-year period have to be counted together and remain below the maximum allowable aid intensity in relation to the sum of eligible costs. Introduction Hungary operates an aid scheme that offers tax credits to encourage regional investment. The scheme has been implemented on the basis of the GBER […]

No Comments

3. September 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Presumed v Actual Compatibility of State aid with the Internal Market

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost36 GBER BMW

State aid granted on the basis of the GBER may not be considered as authorised by the Commission. The task of Member States is to ensure that all of the requirements of the GBER are fulfilled. In particular, Member States must confirm the incentive effect of aid to large enterprises. Introduction[1] In March 2019, the Court of Justice delivered […]

No Comments

28. August 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A Curious Case of Port Concessions

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost35 port concessions

The obligations of a concessionaire may be made less onerous in order to enable it to remain in operation. Any adjustment of the obligations takes into account the possible legal defences of the concessionaire. Introduction The Market Economy Investor Principle [MEIP] is a powerful concept. Its many variations attest to its versatility [e.g. market economy investor, operator, vendor, creditor]. It […]

No Comments

20. August 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Repayable Advances for Support of Research Projects

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost34 RDI GBER

The amount of State aid in a repayable advance to support research projects is the difference between the return a private investor would demand and the actual return for the funding authority. Introduction According to the staff working paper accompanying the 2018 annual competition report that was published on 15 July 2019, 95% of all State aid measures supporting R&D […]

No Comments

13. August 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Aid to Providers of Local Services through Exclusive Contracts Can still Affect Cross-border Trade

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost33 trade

An exclusive contract can affect cross-border trade if the awarding authority has the option to use a competitive selection procedure. Aid to the operator of a legal monopoly may affect trade if the operator can cross-subsidise activities outside the area of the monopoly. Introduction A perennial question is whether aid to providers of local services can affect cross-border trade. Given […]

No Comments

« Previous Page Next Page »

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. October 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid Uncovered ×

16. October 2019 | State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Submit your guest blog post

State Aid Uncovered Blog

State Aid Uncovered ×

Attempting to Minimise Past State aid Is of No Interest to a Private Investor

Public Service Obligations, Duration of Entrustment and Reasonable Profit

Enforcement of State Aid Rules by National Courts

“Invest-NL”: A New Promotional Bank

Sale of a Bank without State aid

Individually Notified Regional Aid

Presumed v Actual Compatibility of State aid with the Internal Market

A Curious Case of Port Concessions

Repayable Advances for Support of Research Projects

Aid to Providers of Local Services through Exclusive Contracts Can still Affect Cross-border Trade

State Aid Uncovered ×

Attempting to Minimise Past State aid Is of No Interest to a Private Investor

Public Service Obligations, Duration of Entrustment and Reasonable Profit

Enforcement of State Aid Rules by National Courts

“Invest-NL”: A New Promotional Bank

Sale of a Bank without State aid

Individually Notified Regional Aid

Presumed v Actual Compatibility of State aid with the Internal Market

A Curious Case of Port Concessions

Repayable Advances for Support of Research Projects

Aid to Providers of Local Services through Exclusive Contracts Can still Affect Cross-border Trade

State Aid Uncovered ×

Attempting to Minimise Past State aid Is of No Interest to a Private Investor

Public Service Obligations, Duration of Entrustment and Reasonable Profit

Enforcement of State Aid Rules by National Courts

“Invest-NL”: A New Promotional Bank

Sale of a Bank without State aid

Individually Notified Regional Aid

Presumed v Actual Compatibility of State aid with the Internal Market

A Curious Case of Port Concessions

Repayable Advances for Support of Research Projects

Aid to Providers of Local Services through Exclusive Contracts Can still Affect Cross-border Trade

Categories

Tags

Recent Posts

Recent Comments