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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7. April 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Green Electricity and Reduction of Energy Taxes for Energy-Intensive Users
State Aid Blogs - m 27 1
Support of electricity production from renewable energy sources is normally compatible with the internal market. Reduction of taxes on electricity used by energy-intensive industries is allowed only for certain sectors exposed to international trade and only when they bear a certain cost. Taxes on imported electricity normally infringe free-trade and non-discrimination provisions, unless commensurate benefits are extended to imported electricity. […]
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1. April 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

State Guarantees
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost39 promotionalbank
The amount of State aid in a guarantee that makes possible the granting of a loan to a well-collateralised firm in difficulty is not the difference in premium but the difference in interest rates. Beneficiaries of guarantees not notified to the Commission do not have any remedy under EU law. Introduction   Last week’s article examined State aid in the […]
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30. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – April 2015
gavel
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 […]
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24. March 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Loans for SMEs
State Aid Blogs - m 17 2
Low-interest loans may be used to support investments. The granting of de minimis aid through loans is possible only if loans are secured against collateral. The 2008 Commission Communication on interest rates does not apply to subordinated, non-collateralised loans.   Introduction “Investment for growth” is the slogan which seems to be on everybody’s lips in Brussels. Last Friday, the European […]
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20. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Emma Linklater

In Brief: Case C‑672/13, OTP Bank Nyrt v Magyar Állam, Magyar Államkincstár
otp bank logo
A quick look at the latest ruling of the CJEU from Thursday 19th March.   In Case C‑672/13 OTP Bank the CJEU responded to preliminary ruling questions from the Hungarian Fővárosi Törvényszék relating to the categorisation of an agency agreement concluded in 2008 between the the Ministry of Local Government, the State Treasury and OTP Bank on the basis of Paragraph 24(15) of […]
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18. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Emma Linklater

In Brief: AG Opinion, Case C‑39/14 – Bodenverwertungs- und -verwaltungs GmbH (BVVG), Thomas Erbs, Ursula Erbs v Landkreis Jerichower Land
green field
This note takes a look at the Opinion of AG Cruz Villalón, delivered on Tuesday 17th March (not available in English at the time of posting). In his 80 paragraph Opinion the AG proposed that the CJEU reply to the preliminary reference question from the German Bundesgerichtshof as follows:Article 107 TFEU should be interpreted to mean that a rule of […]
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17. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Roundup of EStAL Intensive Workshop, London
workshop
Interactive Seminar on The Role of the Market Economy Investor Principle (MEIP) | Infrastructure Funding in Compliance with State Aid Rules March 11th 2015 was a busy day for the State Aid crowd who gathered at King’s College in London for an Intensive Workshop organized by Lexxion. First of all we would like to thank all those, both speakers and participants, […]
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16. March 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Relief from Pension Contributions and Reduction of Taxes
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost38 saleofbank
Compensation for structural disadvantages encumbering undertakings is still State aid. Compensation for structural disadvantages encumbering SGEI providers is not State aid only if it satisfies the Altmark criteria. Reductions of excise duties approved by the Council may still be subject to scrutiny by the Commission under State aid rules. Exception of fossil fuel from energy taxes when it is not […]
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10. March 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Non-Economic Activities
State Aid Blogs - 05.12.Imputability of Aid State aidz
Health insurance which is based on the principle of social solidarity is not economic in nature. Solidarity means that citizens have a right to the service in question and the quality of the service they obtain is not linked to the price they pay, if any. Health services which are provided privately for remuneration are economic in nature. Services provided […]
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5. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Gherardo Carullo

Procedures for examining abnormally low tenders as a State aid tool? A note on Case C-568/13 Data Medical Service
hospital
A look at the Court’s ruling of 18th December 2014 and the use of abnormally low tenders in public service contracts as indicators of illegal State subsidies. This short note examines Case C-568/13 Data Medical Service on the award of public service contracts, which is particularly interesting from a State aid perspective. While stressing that there are no exclusions whatsoever – at a […]
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4. October 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Offsetting of a Structural Disadvantage Is still State Aid
scale and a book
Introduction Normally it is conceptually and technically fairly easy to determine whether an undertaking benefits from a public measure. However, this task becomes considerably more difficult in two situations: i) when a public authority claims that it acts like a private investor and ii) when a public measure is intended to compensate for a disadvantage suffered by the beneficiary undertaking […]
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26. September 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Emerging Doctrine of Inseparability and Compensation for Public Service Obligations [T-347/09, Germany v Commission]
hands in a forest
Introduction In the landmark judgment in Leipzig Halle, the General Court stated that infrastructure which is inseparable from economic activity is itself economic and its public funding can fall in principle within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU. The Court of Justice has confirmed this principle. On 12 September 2013, the General Court in its judgment in case T-347/09, Germany […]
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14. September 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Privatisation of Aeroportos de Portugal: Conflict between the National Economic Adjustment Programme and State Aid Rules?
people at the airport
Background Portugal notified to the Commission the privatisation of the “Aeroportos de Portugal” [ANA] for reasons of legal certainty [SA.36197].[1] ANA is the operator of most Portuguese airports. It manages eight airports across Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Beja, and 4 airports in the Azores) that account for the vast majority of the commercial air traffic in the country. It is worth […]
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2. September 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Altmark and Public Procurement: Definition and Award of Contracts
handshake
Introduction Ever since the Court of Justice ruled on Altmark ten years ago there has been a growing literature on the specific conditions that have to be satisfied so that public assistance to a provider of services of general economic interest [SGEI] does not constitute state aid. In this context, the relationship between the Altmark criteria and the public procurement […]
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23. August 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Selectivity and Administrative Discretion
computer keyboard
On 18 July 2013, in case C-6/12, the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered a judgment on an interesting aspect of the concept of selectivity.[1] The judgment concerned a request for preliminary ruling in a dispute between “P Oy”, a Finnish company, and Finnish tax authorities. The tax authorities refused to allow P Oy to deduct losses incurred in […]
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15. August 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Confusion between Necessity and Proportionality of State Aid [Case SA.35738: Public Funding of Port Infrastructure]
port
Introduction Several postings in this blog have examined cases concerning funding of port, airport or sport infrastructure. These cases have all had interesting peculiarities. Some involved no state aid because public authorities acted as private investors, while in other cases the funding arrangements were designed in such a way so that the state aid to operators would not spill over […]
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14. July 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Flexible Boundary between Economic and Non-economic Activities
gavel, animal figures, euros
This is a rather long posting divided into two parts both of which deal with the concept of economic activity. In part I, I analyse two cases outside the field of state aid that dealt with the concepts of undertaking and economic activity. Both of them originated in legal proceedings initiated before Austrian courts. In part II (that will come […]
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5. July 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

How to Use Economic Tools to Ensure the Proportionality of Aid (Commission Decision SA.34938 on a gas storage facility in Poland)
industry
Introduction Normally, economic analysis is used by the Commission to find out whether a measure confers an abnormal advantage to an undertaking. This would be the case, for example, when a public authority makes an investment that generates a return that falls below what the market would demand. The recipient undertaking derives an abnormal advantage [i.e. an advantage that would […]
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27. June 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Public Support without State Aid
tablet with chart tabelle
Public measures that do not constitute state aid are as interesting as the measures that do provide aid. This posting examines two measures that have been found not to fall within the scope of Article 107(1) TFEU because they do not satisfy one or more of the four criteria laid down in that Article. Non-economic activity: Commission Decision SA.35529 on […]
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20. June 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

PuState Resources and Payments between Undertakings
euro coins
Introduction A couple of years ago, the big issue in State aid law was the concept of selectivity. The judgments in the British Aggregates and Dutch NOx cases expanded, elaborated, and, some argued, convoluted the criteria for determining whether a measure was selective or not. This year, the big issue for sure is the concept of State resources. First came […]
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