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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4. March 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – March 2015
gavel, animal figures, euros
A look at the month ahead Got something to say about State Aid? You can get in touch with us at  Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu  Thursday 05/03/2015 Judgment in Case C-667/13 Banco Privado Português and Massa Insolvente do Banco Privado Português (Court of Justice – Second Chamber)   Friday 06/03/2015 Hearing in Joined Cases T-60/06 RENV II and T-62/06 RENV II Italy v Commission, Eurallumina v Commission (General Court – First Chamber, […]
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2. March 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

A New but Dubious Concept of Advantage [1]
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When the Commission orders recovery of aid that is intended to be passed on to final consumers, it must first calculate the amount, if any, that has been retained by the direct recipients of the aid. If the calculation is too complex, the Commission can delegate that task to national authorities. Introduction   On 5 February 2015, the General Court ruled […]
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26. February 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

In Brief: T-135/12 and T-385/12 France v Commission and Orange v Commission
france telecom orange logo
The General Court confirmed that France granted State aid compatible with the internal market to France Télécom, in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Commission, and dismissed the actions.   The Press Release can be read here and the rulings (in French) here.Last Thursday 26th February the General Court gave its rulings in Cases T-135/12 and T-385/12 France v Commission and Orange v Commission. In […]
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24. February 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Exclusive Rights
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The granting of exclusive rights may confer an advantage but does not in itself result in transfer of state resources. Private undertakings that hold exclusive rights are not utilising state resources by the mere fact that they operate under rights conferred by the state. Price regulation is a regulatory act which does not entail transfer of state resources. Introduction   […]
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18. February 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Failure to Satisfy Ex Post the Altmark Criteria, but Compliance with the 2014 Aviation Guidelines
State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 2019 lexxion stateaid airports
Public service obligations must be entrusted by an official act and defined with sufficient precision. Imprecise definition of public service obligations makes it impossible to identify the costs which are caused by such obligations. Consequently, imprecise definition of public service obligations makes it impossible to grant compensation because subsidisation of non-eligible costs cannot be excluded. Compensation may not be granted […]
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16. February 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Richard Craven

State aid to football clubs in Croatia?
football clubs in Croatia
GNK Dinamo Zagreb: Will the next act of the sports and State aid saga play out in the EU’s newest capital?     The spectre of EU State aid law has loomed over professional club football in Europe since the Commission’s initiation, in 2013, of in-depth investigations into five football clubs in the Netherlands (SA.33584) and seven clubs in Spain […]
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13. February 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

In brief: C-37/14 Commission v France
fruit and vegetables
On Thursday 12th February the CJEU passed down its ruling in C-37/14, finding that France did not take all necessary measures to recover aid illegally granted to the fruit and vegetable sector and thereby failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 288(4) TFEU. The full ruling is available here and the press release can be accessed here. The aid in question concerned ‘contingency plans’ […]
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10. February 2015  |   Guest State Aid Blog by Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary and an invitation to get in touch!
gavel on a laptop
A quick look at the month ahead in the GC/CJEU and reminder about how to get in touch with your news, views and information on how to write a post: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.de Court’s Diary As we look to the month ahead, there are several State aid cases trickling through the EU Courts to watch out for. Here’s an update from the […]
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9. February 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring and the Market Economy Investor Principle
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Different interventions that aim to finance the same restructuring plan constitute a single measure. A private investor may consider a possible damage of its reputation from laying off workers but the damage has to be quantified. Finance support of employees provides an indirect benefit to the employer. Introduction   In this article I review two similar cases: a judgment of […]
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3. February 2015  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

i) Environmental Harm Does Not Make State Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market ii) the Market Economy Investor Principle Applied to Monopolies
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Security of energy supply can be a service of general economic interest. Avoiding harm to the environment is not one of the principles that underpin the internal market and which may not be violated by State aid measures. Determining whether competition is distorted does not require definition of the relevant markets.   This article examines two apparently different but in […]
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8. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

An “Alternative” Method of Valuation for State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Land
construction site
The obligation of the state to act as a private vendor   When a public authority sells an asset to an undertaking, it must sell it at market price. The case law is clear on this point, especially with respect to the sale of public land or a building. Such a sale may constitute state aid “where it is not […]
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1. March 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Market Economy Vendor Principle: Sale of Public Land by the Dutch Municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg [Commission Decision SA.24123]
Cadastre
The previous posting examined a case where the European Commission applied the Market Economy Investor Principle [MEIP]. This is the principle that is used to determine whether there is state aid in commercial transactions between public authorities and undertakings. According to Article 345 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [TFEU], the European Union is neutral with […]
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18. February 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

The Curious Case of Applying the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Monopoly
monopoly game
On 3 October 2012, the European Commission concluded, in case SA.33988, that OPAP, the Greek operator of games of chance received no state aid because the Market Economy Investor Principle applied.[1] At first glance there is nothing unusual about a finding of no aid. But, as always, the devil is in the detail. OPAP holds the exclusive rights to organise various […]
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19. February 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered by Phedon Nicolaides

Blog Intro
pen and paper
State Aid Uncovered State aid law and policy evolve all the time. The basic rules are fairly stable but their interpretation and application are frequently adjusted to take into account changes in market conditions, novel forms of cooperation between public authorities and companies and ever more complex funding instruments and arrangements. This blog tracks the evolution of state aid law […]
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