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.

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

1. Februar 2016 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – February 2016

State Aid Blogs - m 33

State Aid Blogs - m 33

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 ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog Thursday 04/02/2016 Judgment in Case T-287/11 – Heitkamp BauHolding v Commission (General Court – Ninth Chamber) Judgment in […]

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26. Januar 2016 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Nature Conservation as a Service of General Economic Interest

State Aid Blogs - m 38

State Aid Blogs - m 38

Public funding of non-economic activities does not create State aid problems when any related economic activities are clearly separated. The 2012 SGEI package can apply retroactively. Introduction Member States of the European Union are free to designate the services they consider to be in the general economic interest. However, the wide discretion they enjoy in this respect falls under […]

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19. Januar 2016 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Is there an Advantage when the State Pays for Compulsory Milk Tests?

State Aid Blogs - m 32 1

State Aid Blogs - m 32 1

Undertakings obtain an advantage when the state pays for their normal costs. Normal costs are costs which are inherent in the operations of undertakings. The costs of meeting legal obligations are normal. Introduction The case law on advantage in the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU says that aid confers an advantage to undertakings when they obtain a benefit that […]

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12. Januar 2016 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Valuation of Assets Disposed by the State

State Aid Blogs - m 39

State Aid Blogs - m 39

The value of an asset can be determined according to different methods. The main methods examine future income or comparable transactions or stock market valuation. Agreements between sellers and buyers that contain indemnification clauses or settle past claims do not reflect the true market value of the sold asset. Introduction 9 December 2015, the General Court rendered its judgment […]

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5. Januar 2016 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

An Exception Is Not Necessarily Selective: The Case of the Spanish Tax Lease [1]

State Aid Blogs - m 40

State Aid Blogs - m 40

An exception from a tax system is not selective if it is a priori open to any tax payer. Checks by tax authorities to ensure that a measure is applied correctly do not constitute exercise of administrative discretion that may render a measure de facto selective. The impact of a measure on trade and competition cannot be merely presumed just […]

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1. Januar 2016 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – January 2016

Judge gavel with law books

Judge gavel with law books

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 ([email protected]), we are happy to publish your comment on the blog. Thursday 28/01/2016 Judgment in T-507/12 -Slovenia v Commission (General Court – Fifth Chamber) Do you know we also publish […]

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29. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Regional Aid to Car Manufacturers – Part II

State Aid Blogs - m 42

State Aid Blogs - m 42

This is the second part of the article that was published last week. Regional aid, like all State aid, must be necessary and proportional. Regional aid is necessary when investment in an assisted region is more costly. Regional aid is proportional when it does not exceed the amount which can make the investment sufficiently profitable or offset the cost disadvantage […]

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23. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Lexxion Publisher

Top 5 Most Read State Aid Uncovered Posts of the Year

State Aid Blogs - m 6 2

State Aid Blogs - m 6 2

Questions around Altmark, the Market Economy Investor Principle, the granting of De Minimis aid and many more have moved and shaped this year’s judgments on State aid. See which articles by Prof. Phedon Nicolaides were the most popular ones in 2015. With the approach of the end of the third year of Prof. Nicolaides’ blog State Aid Uncovered, we […]

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22. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Regional Aid to Car Manufacturers

State Aid Blogs - m 42

State Aid Blogs - m 42

Regional aid, like all State aid, must be necessary and proportional. Regional aid is necessary when investment in an assisted region is more costly. Regional aid is proportional when it does not exceed the amount which can make the investment sufficiently profitable or offset the cost disadvantage of investment in an assisted region. Introduction In July 2014, the European […]

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14. Dezember 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Altmark, again!

State Aid Blogs - m 5 2

State Aid Blogs - m 5 2

Sectoral regulation is not the same as definition of public service obligation. Aid that favours a certain technology is incompatible with the internal market, unless it can be objectively justified. Introduction “Altmark” has become a permanent feature in the landscape of State aid. Its application was again one of the main issues of contention in six judgments rendered by […]

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23. Dezember 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

An Important Project of Common European Interest

State Aid Blogs - An Important Project of Common European Interest

State Aid Blogs - An Important Project of Common European Interest

Infrastructure projects which are economic in nature are subject to State aid scrutiny regardless of their importance. However, public funding of transport networks which are open to all users does not constitute State aid. Introduction State aid approval of important projects of common European interest is very rare. The joint Commission decisions SA.36558 and SA.38371 [Denmark] and SA.36662 [Sweden] concerning the […]

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15. Dezember 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Application of the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Company Processing Agricultural Products

State Aid Blogs - Application of the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Company Processing Agricultural Products

State Aid Blogs - Application of the Market Economy Investor Principle to a Company Processing Agricultural Products

When a public entity injects fresh capital in a company in which it is already a shareholder, the new capital does not constitute State aid when it satisfies three conditions: i) all shareholders contribute in proportion to the shares they own, ii) the private participation is simultaneous and iii) the private participation is economically significant. Introduction In this article […]

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9. Dezember 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Surprising Interpretation of the Concept of Selectivity

State Aid Blogs - A Surprising Interpretation of the Concept of Selectivity

State Aid Blogs - A Surprising Interpretation of the Concept of Selectivity

Tax measures are selective when they constitute an exception or deviation from the normal or common system of taxation. In addition, the exception must be open only to a pre-defined category of undertakings. IntroductionOften, the decisive element in whether a tax measure constitutes State aid is the existence of selectivity. On 7 November 2014, the General Court ruled on two […]

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1. Dezember 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The First Application of the New GBER to Sport Infrastructure

traffic sign

traffic sign

Public funding of local sport infrastructure may constitute State aid. The granting of a concession contract for the construction and/or operation of the infrastructure may not exclude State aid for the concessionaire. Measures based on the new GBER have to satisfy both its general and specific provisions. The funding gap method can be used in the context of the GBER. […]

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24. November 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Land Transactions: Commercial Deals v Regulatory Acts

State Aid Blogs - Land Transactions Commercial Deals v Regulatory Acts

State Aid Blogs - Land Transactions Commercial Deals v Regulatory Acts

Regulation on land use or changes in such regulations do not constitute State aid. Administrative methods for calculating the value of public land do not necessarily prevent the granting of State aid if they do not reflect the evolution in market valuations. IntroductionMany local authorities own land or regulate the use of land. They also sell or buy land. […]

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18. November 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Recovery of State Aid and Penalty for Failing to Recover Incompatible Aid

State Aid Blogs - Recovery of State Aid and Penalty for Failing to Recover Incompatible Aid

State Aid Blogs - Recovery of State Aid and Penalty for Failing to Recover Incompatible Aid

Extension of an existing aid measure results in the granting of new aid. Only conditions of absolute impossibility can justify non-recovery of incompatible aid. Member States have to exhaust all possible options to recover incompatible aid and, if necessary, have to force the closure of the recipient of the aid. IntroductionIn this article I examine two recent judgments both of […]

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11. November 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Reduction of Property Taxes and Electricity Tariffs

calculator

calculator

Relief from property tax is State aid even when the user of the property is involved in defence contracts. Providing cheaper electricity to a few manufacturers cannot be considered to be an appropriate measure for regional development. Introduction This article summarises several judgments which were delivered in October 2014. They concern a tax exemption in Spain and reduction of electricity […]

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2. November 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Market Economy Investor Test Applied to a Financially Troubled Company

SAS Airbus

SAS Airbus

Public funding of an undertaking is free of State aid when it is accompanied at the same time and on equivalent terms by similar private funding. If public funding is provided at the insistence of the private investors, it cannot be considered to be “pari passu” with the private participation. Public funding into a financially troubled company can still be […]

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27. Oktober 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Measure is Selective if its Application is Narrower than the Scope of the Objective it Seeks to Achieve

Atomium Monument

Atomium Monument

A measure is attributed to a decision of a Member State if it is allowed but not mandated by an EU directive. A measure is selective when in practice it is open to fewer undertakings than the ones to which it can potentially apply by its own defined objectives. Introduction This article examines Commission Decision 2014/686 on a guarantee […]

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20. Oktober 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

i) State Aid Can Be Attributed to the State even when Granted via Faulty Procedures ii) Who Can Challenge a Commission Decision Authorising State Aid?

casino-gambling

casino-gambling

For a measure to constitute State aid, it must, among other things, be attributed to a decision of the state. When a State aid granting decision is made in contravention of the procedural rules of an organisation controlled by the state, the decision can still be attributed to the state, unless it can be shown that the state would have […]

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