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

A Large Investment Project (Part I)

Introduction According to the latest edition of the State aid Scoreboard, in 2021, Member States granted EUR 14 billion of aid to support regional development. That amount corresponded to about 10% of the total non-crisis aid. What is perhaps more interesting is that close to EUR 12.5 billion or 90% of the total regional aid was granted on the basis […]

Decarbonisation of Steel Production

Introduction Many, perhaps the majority, of notifications on the basis of the Guidelines on Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy [CEEAG] concern decarbonisation of production processes. In this context, large amounts of State aid have been funnelled to the decarbonisation of steel production. ArcelorMittal has been a major beneficiary. In February 2023, Spain granted EUR 460 million to support ArcelorMittal to […]

Profitability as a Criterion of the Compatibility of State Aid with the Internal Market

Introduction When the state has a realistic prospect of making profit, its financial transactions with third parties do not constitute State aid. The absence of profit is a strong indicator of the presence of State aid but not necessarily its compatibility with the internal market. For State aid to be compatible with the internal market it must, among other things, […]

I) State Aid Guidelines & II) Repayment of State Aid

Introduction This article reviews two judgments of the Court of Justice: On the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Guidelines and on a structural funds regulation. No Member State has ever succeeded in challenging the Commission’s State aid guidelines. In the first judgment, a group of undertakings tried to dispute the legality of a set of guidelines. Not surprisingly, they failed. The second […]

The Non-economic Nature of a Public Health System and Regional Development

Introduction This article reviews two judgments: On a public health system and on regional development through capital injections. I. Public health system On 27 April 2023, the Court of Justice rendered its judgment in case C-492/21 P, Casa Regina Apostolorum della Pia Società delle Figlie di San Paolo v European Commission.[1] Casa Regina Apostolorum della Pia Società delle Figlie di […]

Regional Operating Aid

Introduction On 21 June 2023, the General Court delivered its judgment in case T-131/21, Região Autónoma da Madeira v European Commission.[1] It rejected the action of the Autonomous Region of Madeira [ARM] by which it sought the annulment of Commission decision 2022/1414 on aid scheme implemented by Portugal for the Madeira Free Zone or Zona Franca da Madeira [ZFM]. The […]

Transactions at Market Rates Can still Confer an Advantage that Constitutes State aid (PART II)

Introduction When public authorities buy goods and services for themselves, they have to pay a market price, otherwise they confer an abnormal advantage to the sellers. On 14 June 2023, the General Court, in case T‑79/21, Ryanair & Airport Marketing Services v European Commission, ruled that public authorities still confer an abnormal advantage by buying good and services that they […]

Transactions at Market Rates Can still Confer an Advantage that Constitutes State aid (PART I)

Introduction When public authorities buy goods and services for themselves, they have to pay a market price, otherwise they confer an abnormal advantage to the sellers. On 14 June 2023, the General Court, in case T-79/21, Ryanair & Airport Marketing Services v European Commission, ruled that public authorities still confer an abnormal advantage by buying good and services that they […]

Regulatory Measures Are not State aid & Trade Unions Are not “Interested Party”

Introduction This article reviews two recent judgments dealing with the concept of state resources and the meaning of “interested party”, respectively. State resources On 8 June 2023, the Court of Justice clarified, by its judgment in case C-50/21, Prestige and Limousine SL, that purely regulatory measures may confer and advantage without, however, granting State aid.1 The Court was responding to […]

How the Infringement of Non-State aid Rules Can Affect the Compatibility of State aid

Introduction  It is now well-established that if a State aid measure is inherently or indissolubly linked to a an infringement of EU law outside the field of State aid it cannot be found to be compatible with the internal market.  As a result of the judgment of the General Court on 24 May 2023, in case T-268/21, Ryanair v European […]

Transactions at Market Rates Can still Confer an Advantage that Constitutes State aid (PART I)

Introduction When public authorities buy goods and services for themselves, they have to pay a market price, otherwise they confer an abnormal advantage to the sellers. On 14 June 2023, the General Court, in case T-79/21, Ryanair & Airport Marketing Services v European Commission, ruled that public authorities still confer an abnormal advantage by buying good and services that they […]

Regulatory Measures Are not State aid & Trade Unions Are not “Interested Party”

Introduction This article reviews two recent judgments dealing with the concept of state resources and the meaning of “interested party”, respectively. State resources On 8 June 2023, the Court of Justice clarified, by its judgment in case C-50/21, Prestige and Limousine SL, that purely regulatory measures may confer and advantage without, however, granting State aid.1 The Court was responding to […]

How the Infringement of Non-State aid Rules Can Affect the Compatibility of State aid

Introduction  It is now well-established that if a State aid measure is inherently or indissolubly linked to a an infringement of EU law outside the field of State aid it cannot be found to be compatible with the internal market.  As a result of the judgment of the General Court on 24 May 2023, in case T-268/21, Ryanair v European […]

A First Case of “Significant Market Power”

Introduction On the same day that the General Court ruled on the recapitalisation of SAS, it also ruled on the recapitalisation of Lufthansa in case T-34/21, Ryanair v European Commission.1 In the latter case, Ryanair sought the annulment of Commission decision SA.57153 of June 2020 by which the Commission approved injection of capital in Deutsche Lufthansa [DLH] of the amount […]

The 2020 Temporary State aid Framework and Recapitalisation of Undertakings

Introduction Ryanair has challenged many Commission decisions authorising State aid for its rivals. In 2021 and 2022, the General Court delivered 12 judgments concerning covid-19-related aid granted to other airlines. Of those 12 judgments, Ryanair temporarily won only three. Its wins were transient because the General Court suspended the annulment of the relevant Commission decisions, on the grounds that the […]

The Temporary Framework Allows Member States to Grant Aid only to SMEs 

Introduction  Although discrimination is in general prohibited in the EU, the fact remains that in the field of State aid Member States may grant State aid only to certain companies and may also decide how much aid to grant.  That the granting of State aid relies solely on the discretion of Member States has recently been re-confirmed by the General […]

Support for the Decarbonisation of the Electricity Sector through Storage Capacity

State Aid Blogs - Untitled design 1
Introduction Romania notified a scheme to support investment in large-scale electricity storage. The Commission approved it in decision SA.102761.[1] The scheme was part of the national Recovery and Resilience Plan [RRP] of Romania and was co-financed by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. By supporting investment in electricity storage, Romania aimed to reduce carbon emissions generated by the energy sector, […]

Development of Affordable Housing

Introduction The provision of social housing can be designated as a service of general economic interest and can be publicly funded under the Commission decision 2021/21. Member States have to show that there is a real social need and limit access to social housing to those persons who cannot afford what the market provides; i.e. low-income or vulnerable persons such […]

State aid Scoreboard, 2022

Introduction On 24 April 2023, the Commission released the 2022 version of the State aid Scoreboard which this year runs to a record 226 pages.[1] It covers the State aid that was granted in 2021 and contains information on both covid-19 measures and non-pandemic aid. Covid-19 related aid reached EUR 191 billion, or 57% of total aid expenditure. Non-crisis aid […]

German Risk Finance

Introduction Relatively few risk finance measures are notified to the Commission as Member States use Articles 21 and 22 of the GBER to support investments in SMEs and start-ups. However, the GBER excludes from its scope tax incentives for investments by undertakings. Tax incentives are possible only for investments by private investors. For this reason, Germany recently notified an aid […]

Court’s Diary – November 2015

Find below the court’s diary for all State aid cases. Would you like to write a comment on one of them? Please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us (stateaidhub@lexxion.eu), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog.   Wednesday 11/11/2015 Judgment in Case C-505/14 – Klausner Holz Niedersachsen (Court of Justice – Second Chamber) Thursday 12/11/2015 Judgment in […]

A new misnomer in State aid law: single economic unit with separate legal personality (C 357/14 P, Dunamenti Erőmű/Commission)

The following blog post is a contributory piece by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher at the Centre of European Legal Studies, Bucharest. Matei holds a Juris Master in European Business Law (Lund University, June 2012), a Magister legum (Lund University, June 2010) and a BSc in Economics & Business Administration (Lund University, June 2009). We are very glad to welcome her […]

Courts’s Diary – October 2015

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu   Thursday 01/10/2015 Judgment in Case C-357/14 P – Electrabel and Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber)   Tuesday 06/10/2015 Judgment in Case C-303/13 P – Andersen v Commission (Court of Justice – Grand Chamber)   Thursday 08/10/2015 Hearing in Joined Cases T-479/11 & T-157/12 – France v Commission, […]

How Reasonable The Private Investor May Be Assumed To Be? Corsica Ferries France

The following article summary is a contributory piece by Gian Marco Galletti. The full piece was published in the Common Market Law Review. Galletti is working as a researcher at the Dickson Poon School of Law since 2013. He is currently working on a PhD in European law under the supervision of Prof. Andrea Biondi. He holds an LLB with […]

Court’s Diary – September 2015

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu   Thursday 03/09/2015   Judgment in Case C-89/14 – A2A (Court of Justice – Fifth Chamber)Tuesday 08/09/2015 Hearing in Case T-103/14 – Frucona Košice v Commission (General Court – Second Chamber)Thursday 17/09/2015 Judgment in Case C-33/14 P – Mory and Others v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber)   Friday 18/09/2015 Judgment […]

Court’s Diary – July 2015

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.de Wednesday 01/07/2015 Opinion in Case C-357/14 P Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber)   Thursday 02/07/2015 Judgment in Joined cases T-425/04 RENV France v Commission, T-444/04 RENV Orange v Commission (General Court – Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition)   Wednesday 08/07/2015 Hearing in Case T-287/11 Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth […]

EStAL Best Reviewer Award 2014/2015

Last week our 13th Experts’ Forum on New Developments in European State Aid Law took place. From 10th to 12th June 2015 a group of enthusiastic professionals interested in State Aid gathered at the Club of the University Foundation in Brussels to discuss the most recent issues on the topic. In the realm of this conference, we were proud to announce our […]

Court’s Diary – June 2015

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Thursday 04/06/2015 Judgment in Case C-15/14 P Commission v MOL (Court of Justice – First Chamber)   Tuesday 09/06/2015 Hearing in Case T-515/13 Spain v Commission (General Court – Seventh Chamber)   Wednesday 10/06/2015 Hearing in Case C-367/14 Commission v Italy (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Hearing in Case T-719/13 Lico Leasing and Pequeños y […]

Court’s Diary – May 2015

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 […]

Court’s Diary – April 2015

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 […]

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 stratieva@lexxion.eu.

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