Europäisches Beihilfenrecht Blog

State Aid Uncovered by Prof Phedon Nicolaides

In Lexxions Blog „State Aid Uncovered” veröffentlicht Prof. Phedon Nicolaides wöchentlich kritische Analysen zu den neuesten Urteilen und Entscheidungen zu staatlichen Beihilfen. Jeder Beitrag stellt die wichtigsten Punkte eines Gerichtsurteils oder einer EU-Kommissionsentscheidung vor, ordnet sie in den Kontext ähnlicher Rechtsprechung oder Praxis ein, bewertet die zugrundeliegende Argumentation und zeigt etwaige Ungereimtheiten oder Widersprüche auf.

In loser Folge werden auf diesem Blog auch Gastbeiträge von anderen Experten für staatliche Beihilfen veröffentlicht, welche die Inhalte der Blogbeiträge ergänzen.

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

9. Februar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The State Acting as a Regulator

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost6 NL gambling

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost6 NL gambling

When the state acts as a regulator, it does not have to charge a licence fee that maximises its revenue. Introduction Governments can influence the allocation of resources with at least three instruments: subsidisation, taxation and regulation. All three may contain State aid; if subsidies are selective, if taxes allow for exemptions and if regulation involves charges which are not […]

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2. Februar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Helsinki Busses, Loans, Article 93 and Indemnification

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost5 Helsinki bus

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost5 Helsinki bus

Bus transportation provided by public authorities constitutes economic activity. Loans given by a public authority to its transport unit have to be priced at market rates. The market value of public assets sold to third parties has to reflect any state indemnities. Temporary Framework The European Commission announced on 28 January 2021 a fifth amendment to the Temporary Framework. [1] […]

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26. Januar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Training and State Resources

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost4 training

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost4 training

The definition of quality indicators and the establishment of certificates of quality do not amount to control by the state over the resources belonging to non-state entities. Introduction Consider the case of a public university which decides to finance the proposal of one of its researchers to launch a research project in collaboration with a private company. For sure the […]

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19. Januar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Funding of Public Hospitals

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost3 Hospitals

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost3 Hospitals

Public healthcare provided in accordance with the principle of social solidarity is not economic in nature. Introduction There are two sectors where economic and non-economic activities mix and cause potential State aid problems: healthcare and education. Healthcare and education provided by public institutions do not differ much from healthcare and education provided by private institutions. The critical difference is not […]

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12. Januar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A First Evaluation of Covid-19 State Aid

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 Covid

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 Covid

There is a significant variation across Member States in terms of the number of aid measures as well as the amount of aid. Introduction On 17 December 2020, the European Parliament published a report evaluating the impact of State aid to combat covid-19.[1] The report was requested by the committee responsible for economic policy. The report is probably the first […]

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5. Januar 2021 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

One Agreement, Two Parallel Systems: Subsidies in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost1 Brexit

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost1 Brexit

The agreement on subsidies allows the UK to deviate from EU State aid rules. Introduction After the exit of the United Kingdom [UK] from the European Union [EU] on 31 January 2020, EU State aid rules continued to apply to the UK during a transitional period that came to an end on 31 December 2020. In the closing days of […]

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28. Dezember 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Time Horizon of a Private Investor

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost51

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost51

A public authority that claims that it invests for the long term, must still prove that its investment is likely to be profitable. Introduction Public authorities may invest in private companies. However, they need to behave as private investors otherwise they confer an advantage that constitutes State aid. In their defence, public authorities claiming that they act as private investors, […]

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21. Dezember 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Attribution to the State does not necessarily Imply Control by the State

State Aid Blogs - towel 1838210 1920 1

State Aid Blogs - towel 1838210 1920 1

Prices fixed by the state do not necessarily confer control to the state over the private resources which are used to pay those prices. Introduction Judging from how many times EU courts have been asked to interpret the concept of state resources, it seems that one of the most difficult aspects of Article 107(1) TFEU is to determine whether funding […]

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15. Dezember 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Law, Economics and Art of Compensation for Public Service Obligations

State Aid Blogs - post sign 1893086 1920 1

State Aid Blogs - post sign 1893086 1920 1

State aid in the form of compensation for public service obligations must exclude any intangible benefits from the obligation, but may include reasonable profit. The Commission guidelines for State aid in agriculture and forestry, the block exemption regulations covering agriculture, forestry, fishery and aquaculture, and the Regulation on de minimis aid for fishery and aquaculture have been prolonged to 31 […]

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8. Dezember 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Rare Case of Altmark-compliant SGEI (Part II)

State Aid Blogs - container 1638068 1920

State Aid Blogs - container 1638068 1920

For a service to be in the general economic interest, it must be shown to fill a gap in the market or to offer what the market fails to provide adequately. [In case you have missed part I, you can access it here.] Introduction Services of general economic interest [SGEI] are important for the functioning of European societies. However, the […]

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15. September 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Non-economic Activities and Services of General Economic Interest

State Aid Blogs - environmental protection 683437 1280

State Aid Blogs - environmental protection 683437 1280

Non-economic tasks and economic activities which are inseparable from those non-economic tasks are together, as a bundle, non-economic in nature. Public compensation for the extra costs of services of general economic interest [SGEI] may not cross-subsidise activities that fall outside the scope of the SGEI. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 11 September […]

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8. September 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

State Control without State Imputability

State Aid Blogs - Postnord

State Aid Blogs - Postnord

A snapshot of Covid-19 State aid Number of Covid-19 approved measures1, 2 [EU27 + UK, 4 September 2020] 19-15 13-11 9-7 6-4 BE CZ DK IT PL DE FR HU LV NL BG EL FI IE LT LU MT RO SE SK UK AT CY EE ES HR PT SI Source: DG Competition, author’s own calculations 1: Data exclude amendments […]

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1. September 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Pari Passu Investments

State Aid Blogs - money 3115984 1920

State Aid Blogs - money 3115984 1920

Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 28 August 2020: 270* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 28; Article 107(3)(b): 228; Article 107(3)(c): 21 Four Member States have implemented 15 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy & Poland. – Average number of measures per Member State: 9.6 – Median number of measures […]

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25. August 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Non-economic Nature of Certain IT Services for Higher Education

State Aid Blogs - ipad 820272 1920 1

State Aid Blogs - ipad 820272 1920 1

Publicly funded educational services are not economic in nature. Activities intrinsically linked to public tasks are not economic in nature. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 21 August 2020: 262* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 28; Article 107(3)(b): 220; Article 107(3)(c): 20 Four Member States have implemented 16 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, […]

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18. August 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

MEIP-Compliant Bank Recapitalisation: CEC Bank

State Aid Blogs - money 1064126 1920

State Aid Blogs - money 1064126 1920

An investor who is already a shareholder would take into account not only the return on new investment but also the impact on the overall profitability of the company in which capital is injected. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 14 August 2020: 252* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 27; Article 107(3)(b): 211; Article […]

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11. August 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Commission Must Act in Accordance with the Principle of Proportionality

investigation

investigation

The opening of a formal investigation obliges Member States to suspend implementation of their State aid measures. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 7 August 2020: 241* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 25; Article 107(3)(b): 203; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Four Member States have implemented 15 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Denmark, Italy & […]

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4. August 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Draft Regional Aid Guidelines: Simpler and Clearer

Regional Aid

Regional Aid

Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 31 July 2020: 235* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 24; Article 107(3)(b): 198; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Five Member States have implemented 13 or more covid-19 measures each: Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy & Poland. – Average number of measures per Member State: 8.3 – Median number of measures per […]

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21. Juli 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Taxation of Multinational Companies: The Apple Case – A Political Setback for the Commission, but a Victory on Principle

MacBook on Table

MacBook on Table

Defects, incompleteness and inconsistencies in tax rulings are not sufficient to prove the existence of an advantage in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published covid-19 measures, as of 17 July 2020: 213* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 21; Article 107(3)(b): 179; Article 107(3)(c): 18 Five Member States have implemented 13 or more […]

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14. Juli 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

2019 Competition Report

report

report

The Annual Competition Report is a useful document, but it should provide more information on the results of the ex post evaluations and ex post monitoring. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 10 July 2020: 202* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 20; Article 107(3)(b): 171; Article 107(3)(c): 17 Six Member States have implemented 11 […]

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7. Juli 2020 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Third Amendment to the Temporary Framework & Prolongation of the GBER, De Minimis Regulation and Guidelines

european commission

european commission

Micro and small enterprises in difficulty are no longer excluded from the Temporary Framework. Undertakings in difficulty as a result of COVID-19 are no longer excluded from the GBER and Guidelines. Update on Temporary Framework: Number of approved and published COVID-19 measures, as of 3 July 2020: 185* Legal basis: Article 107(2)(b): 17 Article 107(3)(b): 155; Article 107(3)(c): 16 Five […]

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