Europäisches Beihilfenrecht Blog

State Aid Uncovered Blog

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.

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

7. August 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Compatibility of State Aid Depends on the Rules which are Applicable at the Time the Aid is Granted

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blopost31 SA Italy Bustransfer

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blopost31 SA Italy Bustransfer

Failure to comply with just a single provision of an exemption regulation results in the non-applicability of the whole regulation and makes any implemented aid measure automatically illegal. The compatibility of aid measures adopted in the past but continuing having effects are assessed not on the basis of old rules but on the basis of the rules which are applicable […]

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27. Juli 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Definition of the Reference Tax System is still a Puzzle

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 27 30 Tax System

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 27 30 Tax System

A selective measure should be determined on the basis of its effects, not on the basis of the legally defined regulatory techniques. Introduction A tax measure is selective in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU when it basically deviates from the normal tax system. In the case of a tax reduction or a tax exemption the normal system is […]

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17. Juli 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Danish Water Tax Exemption

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost28 Water Tax Denmark

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost28 Water Tax Denmark

A selective tax reduction does not constitute State aid if it does not confer an advantage that is proportionately larger than the magnitude of the tax reduction. A complete exemption of insignificant amounts of the taxable volume can be justified on the grounds of reducing administrative burden. Introduction Member States enjoy wide discretion to levy taxes on […]

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10. Juli 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The 2017 Annual Competition Report

State Aid Blogs - Blog27 Annual Report

State Aid Blogs - Blog27 Annual Report

Introduction On 18 June 2018, the European Commission published its Annual Report on Competition Policy for 2017.[1] As usually, the Annual Report is accompanied by a Staff Working Paper that has almost four times as many pages as the Annual Report and provides more details on developments in all areas of competition policy, including State aid.The pre-eminent role of the […]

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3. Juli 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Revision of the GBER

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blog26 GBERd

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blog26 GBERd

Block exemption of new financial instruments. Introduction The Commission has recently published a proposal for amendment of Council Regulation 2015/1588[1] which authorises the Commission to adopt block exemption regulations. The purpose of the Commission’s proposal is to expand Article 1 of Regulation 2015/1588. This Article lists the categories of aid that may be declared compatible with the internal market.The […]

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25. Juni 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Remedying the Damage of a Natural Disaster through Incentives for New Investments

State Aid Blogs - m 3 1

State Aid Blogs - m 3 1

Damage from natural disasters can be remedied in the short-term through direct compensation or in the longer-term through investment subsidies to support new productive capacity. Introduction This article reviews a rather straightforward case which, however, is also quite unusual. It concerns a measure to remedy the effect of recent earthquakes in Italy. What makes it unusual is that […]

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19. Juni 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sector-Specific Tax Exemptions

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 24 Seaports

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 24 Seaports

A measure that covers a whole sector can be selective. Distortions caused by the policies of other Member States cannot justify the granting of State aid. The purpose of State aid is not to ensure equal conditions of competition across Member States. Introduction On 31 May 2018, the General Court ruled in case T-160/16, Groningen Seaports v European Commission.[1] Groningen […]

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12. Juni 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

State Aid for the Deployment of Broadband Networks

State Aid Blogs - SAZ Blogpost 23 Broadband

State Aid Blogs - SAZ Blogpost 23 Broadband

Most State aid for the development of broadband networks is approved by the Commission. But the aid must be limited only to areas where market-based investments are unlikely to be made without aid. Introduction This article reviews a recent Commission decision authorising State aid for broadband development in the Netherlands which is one of the most networked countries […]

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5. Juni 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Extent of the Discretion of Member States to Define Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 22 SGEI

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 22 SGEI

A service is classified as an SGEI not only when it is important for citizens but also when the market does not adequately supply it and one or more undertakings are compelled to provide it to specified consumers, in specified areas and on specified terms. Introduction The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the case law […]

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29. Mai 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Exemptions from Product-Specific Taxes

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 21 Product Tax

State Aid Blogs - SAH Blogpost 21 Product Tax

Tax exemptions do not constitute State aid when they aim to induce change in the behaviour of consumers, when they distinguish between harmful products and non-harmful products and for reasons of administrative simplicity. Introduction In the past two weeks, an article was published in two parts criticising the judgments of the Court of Justice in three cases of […]

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2. Januar 2018 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

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

State Aid Blogs - marcin jozwiak 44YvpqQ595w unsplash

State Aid Blogs - marcin jozwiak 44YvpqQ595w unsplash

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 […]

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27. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

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

State Aid Blogs - m 36

State Aid Blogs - m 36

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 […]

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21. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Lexxion Publisher

Top 5 State Aid Uncovered Posts in 2017

State Aid Blogs - m 1 2

State Aid Blogs - m 1 2

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 […]

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19. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sport and Trade

State Aid Blogs - m 2 2

State Aid Blogs - m 2 2

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 […]

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12. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How to Determine whether State Aid Affects Trade

State Aid Blogs - 12.12.17cross border trade StateAid

State Aid Blogs - 12.12.17cross border trade StateAid

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. […]

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5. Dezember 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

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

State Aid Blogs - 05.12.Imputability of Aid State aidz

State Aid Blogs - 05.12.Imputability of Aid State aidz

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 […]

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30. November 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Legal Basis of the (In)compatibility of Aid Must be Clear

State Aid Blogs - m 3 2

State Aid Blogs - m 3 2

The European Commission may withdraw a decision, but before it adopts a new decision it must give an opportunity to interested parties to submit their comments, especially, if it changes the legal basis of the assessment of the compatibility of the aid. Introduction The most frequent reasons for which the Commission finds aid to be incompatible with the internal […]

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21. November 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

i) Transfer of State Resources, ii) Non-recovery of Incompatible Aid, iii) Primacy of Agricultural Policy over Competition Policy

State Aid Blogs - 21.11.State resources State control

State Aid Blogs - 21.11.State resources State control

Private resources that come under the control of a public authority become state resources. The only defence for not recovering incompatible aid is absolute impossibility. Agricultural policy objectives take precedence over those of competition policy. Introduction This article reviews a case involving transfer of state resources and a case concerning failure to recovery of incompatible State aid. It also draws […]

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14. November 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Existing v New Aid

State Aid Blogs - m 4 1

State Aid Blogs - m 4 1

Any alteration of an existing aid measure can affect the substance of the measure itself. A deviation from the conditions of authorisation may turn existing aid into new aid. Alteration or deviation from the conditions of authorisation that affect the compatibility of an existing aid measure, can result in the granting of new aid. A Member State that alters an […]

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7. November 2017 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Indirect v Secondary Effects of State Aid

State Aid Blogs - 07.11.sardinia airport State aid

State Aid Blogs - 07.11.sardinia airport State aid

The prohibition of State aid in Article 107(1) of the Treaty applies both to the direct and indirect beneficiaries of aid. The direct and indirect beneficiaries are those who are intentionally targeted by the aid. Secondary effects are benefits which are inherent in an aid measure and which are not targeted at specific undertakings. Introduction Public funding for the […]

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