State Aid Law Blog

State Aid Uncovered by Prof Phedon Nicolaides

On a weekly basis Phedon Nicolaides posts critical analysis pieces on the latest State aid judgments and decisions on his blog State Aid Uncovered. Each article presents the main points of a court ruling or Commission‘s decision, places them in the context of similar case law or practice, assesses the underlying reasoning, and identifies any inconsistencies or contradictions.
Occasional guest blog posts by other State aid experts complement the State aid knowledge hub.

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

Danish Horse Racing

Taxes hypothecated to State aid measures fall within the scope of the assessment of the compatibility of those measures.   Introduction Operating aid is not normally allowed. Yet, in decision SA.48604 concerning horse-racing betting in Denmark the Commission appears to have authorised operating aid.[1] This measure was approved within six months. In the post-SAM, it must be one of the […]

Selectivity Requires Comparison

To determine whether a measure is selective it is necessary to compare the beneficiary companies to other companies which are in a similar situation and determine whether the latter receive the same advantage. Introduction[1]   On 20 December 2017, the Court of Justice delivered three judgments in appeals against rulings of the General Court concerning the expansion of digital terrestrial television […]

Structural Disadvantages and Regional Aid

Aid that seeks to neutralise a structural disadvantage still confers an advantage. Aid that seeks to remedy market failure is selective. State aid that is compatible with the internal market must be necessary to achieve an objective of the Treaty and be capable of incentivising a change in the behaviour of the recipient undertakings.   Introduction On 13 December 2017, […]

PART II: Concessions and State Aid: Does the State Act as a Regulator or Market Operator?

When Member States act as regulators they need not maximise revenue from the granting of concessions rights. When Member States act as regulators they must grant concession rights on the basis of procedures which are competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional.   Part II: Public procurement principles[1] Principles for selection of concession holders The Commission examined also, in addition to the […]

Court’s Diary – January 2018

Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases this month. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog.   Tuesday 16/01/2018 Judgment in case T-747/15 – EDF v Commission (General Court – Third Chamber) Wednesday 17/01/2018 Judgment […]

PART I: Concessions and State Aid: Does the State Act as a Regulator or Market Operator?

When Member States act as regulators they need not maximise revenue from the granting of concessions rights. When Member States act as regulators they must grant concession rights on the basis of procedures which are competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional. Introduction   Is it possible for a public authority to grant State aid through a defective procurement procedure? The answer […]

Top 5 State Aid Uncovered Posts in 2017

Questions around grants for R&D&I projects, economic activities of religious establishments or concession agreements besides many more, have moved and shaped this year’s judgments on State aid. Also Brexit and its meaning for State aid control in the UK has been on everyone’s mind. See which articles by Prof. Phedon Nicolaides were the most popular ones in 2017. We have […]

Sport and Trade

State aid has a purely local impact when i) the beneficiaries supply goods or services to a limited area within a Member State, ii) they are unlikely to attract customers from other Member States and iii) there is no inducement for cross-border investment or establishment.   Introduction The article this week continues with the theme of affectation of trade that […]

How to Determine whether State Aid Affects Trade

Article 107(1) requires the assessment of both the direct and indirect impact of a public measure on cross-border trade. The direct impact is the effect on the cross-border movement of products or customers of the aid recipient or of its competitors. The indirect impact is the effect on the cross-border movement of the aid recipient itself or its competitors.   […]

Imputability of an Aid Measure to the State Does not Require a Counterfactual

The fact that the state owns an undertaking is not enough to prove that the decisions of that undertaking can be attributed to the state. However, it is sufficient that the state was involved in the particular decision that transferred state resources for the benefit of another undertaking.   Introduction Several recent articles on this blog have examined the concept […]

Even the Catholic Church Is not Absolved from State Aid Rules: The Essence of Economic Activity – PART I

Purely religious activities and education funded by the state are not economic in nature. Introduction On 27 June 2017 the Court of Justice ruled in case C‑74/16, Congregación de Escuelas Pías Provincia Betania v Ayuntamiento de Getafe.[1] The ruling was in response to a request from a Spanish administrative court dealing with a tax dispute between religious schools and the municipality of […]

Imputability to the State

State resources and imputability or attribution to the state are two distinct concepts. They must both be satisfied in order for a measure to constitute State aid. Introduction Several Member States have set up “promotional” banks or national development banks. Some of these promotional banks pursue only public policy objectives by channelling cheap funds to SMEs. Some others provide funding […]

Is there any Advantage for Owners, Operators or Users of Publicly Funded Ports?

Public funding of ports confers an advantage to their owners, but not for operators chosen competitively or users who pay a market price.   Introduction Few issues have exercised public authorities more than the funding of infrastructure which is used for commercial purposes. This is because State aid may benefit the owner and/or the operator and/or the users of the […]

The Effectiveness of Clear Guidance: The Case of Broadband Networks

This blog examines how much aid goes to support broadband networks and what lessons can be drawn from the Commission’s decisional practice.   Introduction A principal objective of the State Aid Modernisation was to free Commission resources from the time-consuming task of checking the conformity of routine measures of State aid. Consequently, the General Block Exemption Regulation was extended to […]

A Regional Aid Scheme with an Ex-Post Evaluation Plan

Aid must be capable of remedying the regional handicap.   Introduction A novel aspect of the 2014 State Aid Modernisation was the requirement for ex-post evaluation of large or unusual State aid measures. The purpose of the ex-post evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of State aid. The outcome of the evaluation does not affect the legality of the aid. […]

Transfer of State Assets between State-Owned Companies

Transfers of public assets for the purpose of extinguishing debt have to be valued according to private creditor principle. Transfers of public assets that involve State aid must be notified to the Commission.   Introduction Sale or transfer of state assets is a tricky process. A possible undervaluation of the assets results in State aid for the benefit of the […]

The Art, Science and Law of Funding Services of General Economic Interest

The compulsory nature of an assigned public mission makes the services covered by the mission different from those provided by market operators for profit.   Introduction The justification of government intervention for the purpose of ensuring delivery of adequate services of general economic interest [SGEI] and the design of measures that compensate providers of SGEI can be very tricky. This […]

What Costs Are Charged by Public Authorities when they Act as Market Operators?

Fees charged by operators to users of infrastructure must cover all relevant costs. The relevant costs are those which are causally linked to the agreements between users and operators. Introduction The rules in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are neutral in their treatment of private or state-owned companies [Article 345 TFEU]. This means that companies cannot […]

Regional Investment Aid and Sale of Land

A company that applies for State aid is considered to acquire a right to that aid when assurances it has received from the granting authority can be enforced in court. The price of land can be reduced by the cost that a new owner would expend to make the land usable.   Introduction In decision SA.40448, the Commission assessed aid […]

Bank Resolution Has to Comply with State Aid Rules as well as the Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive

Insurance funds contributed by banks become state resources if they are managed by public agencies. Sale of non-performing loans at market prices does not involve State aid.   Introduction Since 1 January 2016, the resolution financial institutions in Europe has been subject to stricter rules. The institutions which are established in the Eurozone fall with the jurisdiction of the Single […]

How to Submit a Blog Post

Do you want to share your analysis of a State aid law topic? We invite you to submit your post on, for example: recent European, national or international judgments or legislation with relevance to EU State aid law; new developments, publications, hot topics in EU State aid law. The recommended length of the post is 500-2,000 words incl. references (endnotes). Your analysis will be published under the category ‘Guest State Aid Blog’.

Here’s how you can publish a post on the Blog as a guest author:

Step 1: Submit your draft to Nelly Stratieva at [email protected].

Step 2: We at Lexxion will review your draft to make sure its content and quality fit the blog. If needed, they will suggest what improvements you should make.

Step 3: Once your draft has been finalised and accepted, we will publish your post.

Submit your guest blog post

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