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

4. November 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Economic Continuity and Recovery of Incompatible State Aid

State Aid Blogs - m 1 4

State Aid Blogs - m 1 4

Incompatible State aid must be recovered from “successor” companies which acquire previously aided companies and enable the latter to continue their operations without any change. Introduction In this article I review two decisions in which the Commission determined that incompatible aid had to be recovered from “successor” companies. Those were companies which had obtained the assets of the […]

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27. Oktober 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Perennial Altmark Questions

State Aid Blogs - m 5 2

State Aid Blogs - m 5 2

A SGEI provider does not have to be efficient by industry standards in order to receive compensation for its next extra costs. Although the conditions for compatibility of public service compensation under Article 106(2) TFEU appear to be similar to the Altmark criteria, they have very different objectives. Introduction Even since the Altmark judgment of July 2003, public authorities […]

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22. Oktober 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Emanuela Matei

A new misnomer in State aid law: single economic unit with separate legal personality (C 357/14 P, Dunamenti Erőmű/Commission)

electricity grid cables

electricity grid cables

The following blog post is a contributory piece by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher at the Centre of European Legal Studies, Bucharest. Matei holds a Juris Master in European Business Law (Lund University, June 2012), a Magister legum (Lund University, June 2010) and a BSc in Economics & Business Administration (Lund University, June 2009). We are very glad to welcome her […]

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20. Oktober 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Should State Aid that Is Passed on to Consumers Not be Recovered?

State Aid Blogs - 10.10. Stateaid deminimis calculator

State Aid Blogs - 10.10. Stateaid deminimis calculator

Should the amount of recoverable aid be similarly reduced by the amount that is allegedly passed on to consumers? I will argue the case against it. Introduction On 5 February 2015, the General Court, in cases T-473/12, Aer Lingus v Commission[1] and T-500/12, Ryanair v Commission[2], annulled Article 4 of Commission Decision 2013/199. In that decision the Commission found that a […]

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13. Oktober 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Primer on Compensation for the Extra Costs of Public Service Obligations Taking into Account Efficiency Gains

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost38 saleofbank

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost38 saleofbank

When Member States impose PSOs they are never allowed to grant even a single euro in excess of the net extra costs of the PSO. That is prohibited for the simple reason that it results in over-compensation. Introduction The Lexxion seminar on state aid for transport and transport infrastructure that took place in Brussels on 21-22 September (view […]

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12. Oktober 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Courts’s Diary – October 2015

gavel

gavel

Any comments on #Stateaid? Get in touch: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Thursday 01/10/2015 Judgment in Case C-357/14 P – Electrabel and Dunamenti Erőmű v Commission (Court of Justice – Third Chamber) Tuesday 06/10/2015 Judgment in Case C-303/13 P – Andersen v Commission (Court of Justice – Grand Chamber) Thursday 08/10/2015 Hearing in Joined Cases T-479/11 & T-157/12 – France v Commission, […]

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5. Oktober 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The State Acting as a Private Creditor & State Aid Enforcement and Procedural Rights

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost14 StateAid Lexxion Money Eu Commission Bank Financial

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost14 StateAid Lexxion Money Eu Commission Bank Financial

In this article I review Commission decision SA.37100 on JSC Liepajas Metalurgs [LM], once Latvia’s largest steel company and major employer. The decision examines whether Latvia acted promptly to recover a debt owed to it by a company that faced financial difficulties. The question was whether Latvia acted as a private creditor when it allowed the debtor to continue operations. […]

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29. September 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Airport Infrastructure, Public Remit and the MEOT

State Aid Blogs - ashim d silva pGcqw1ARGyg unsplash

State Aid Blogs - ashim d silva pGcqw1ARGyg unsplash

A public authority, acting as a private investor, may provide finance which is free of state aid to an airport and at the same time grant state aid to the same airport. Public funding of activities that fall within the exclusive tasks of the state is not state aid. When a public authority defines the activities that fall within the […]

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25. September 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

New State Aid Regulations

sign

sign

Regulation 2015/1589 is the new procedural regulation. It lays down the rules for, among other things, notification of state aid, formal investigation, injunctions and recovery of incompatible aid. Because of its importance in the EU system of state aid control, it will be fully reviewed at a forthcoming article. In the Official Journal of 24 September 2015 you will find […]

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24. September 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Gian Marco Galletti

How Reasonable The Private Investor May Be Assumed To Be? Corsica Ferries France

steel construction

steel construction

The following article summary is a contributory piece by Gian Marco Galletti. The full piece was published in the Common Market Law Review. Galletti is working as a researcher at the Dickson Poon School of Law since 2013. He is currently working on a PhD in European law under the supervision of Prof. Andrea Biondi. He holds an LLB with […]

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4. August 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Profitability of an Investment Must be Determined Ex Ante

invest graph

invest graph

Internal transfer of capital which is not used to fund new economic activities is not State aid. Injection of fresh capital to satisfy solvency and liquidity requirements still has to comply with State aid rules. A private investor always has the option of not injecting new capital and may opt instead to close down the business. A private investor always […]

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29. Juli 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Benchmarks of Profitability for Private Investors

movie production

movie production

A public authority that injects capital in an undertaking [or provides any other kind of finance] must ensure that the funding can achieve the rate of return that can, in principle, satisfy a private investor. The rate that can satisfy a private investor and ensure that the funding is free of State aid is the rate that covers the cost of […]

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22. Juli 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sale of Public Assets, SGEI and Electricity Levies

Electrical grid

Electrical grid

Revenue from levies on electricity users is most likely to constitute State resources. Public service obligations can be transferred from one electricity-generating company to another. Compensation for public service obligations may distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable costs. Performance benchmarking can be used as a means for inducing efficiency. Electricity levies may not directly or indirectly discriminate against imported electricity. Introduction This is a […]

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16. Juli 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Capital Injection that Turns out to be Incompatible State Aid

skiing equipment

skiing equipment

Public authorities and the entities they control need to ensure that injection of public money in an undertaking must satisfy the market economy investor principle, otherwise it will be considered to be State aid. Public funding of an undertaking in difficulty has to be preceded by an ex ante assessment that can show that either the recipient will be turned around […]

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10. Juli 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The New General Block Exemption Regulation: The Cornerstone of the State Aid Regime, 2014-2020

office table

office table

The new GBER at a glance Common Provisions: aid must be transparent, must have incentive effect, rules on cumulation, and aid measures and awards must be published. Specific Provisions: Thirteen categories and many types of aid. Exclusions: no export aid, no mandated use of domestic products, no aid to firms in difficulty, no provisions that violate EU law, and no aid to […]

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3. Juli 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Land Development without State Aid

construction site

construction site

Activities which are part of the performance of public duties are non-economic in nature [e.g. spatial development]. Public funding of these activities does not constitute State aid. The transfer of resources from one level of government to another is transfer between public authorities and does not constitute State aid. Competitive selected developers obtain no advantage. Purchasers of subsidised assets who pay market prices […]

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25. Juni 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Transparency Is also Needed at the European Commission Level

EU flags

EU flags

As more State aid measures in the future will be granted on the basis of the General Block Exemption Regulation, Member States will have to make the aid they grant more transparent. More transparency should prevent the granting of State aid that is incompatible with the internal market. However, Member States should also be assisted in identifying which public measures may contain […]

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19. Juni 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A JESSICA-Funded Public-Private Partnership

construction site

construction site

Public funding of a public-private partnership for the construction and maintenance of public schools may still involve State Aid. State Aid may have an incentive effect even when it is granted to a project that has already started. The funding gap method can demonstrate the necessity and proportionality of State Aid. Introduction This article reviews Commission Decision SA.37168 concerning the construction […]

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12. Juni 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Price Discounts and Compensation for Public Service Obligations: A Case of Questionable Need for Aid

school busses

school busses

SGEI can be defined and public service obligations can be imposed only when the market underprovides. The parameters of compensation must be determined in advance. Public service compensation may not exceed the next extra costs of the SGEI or PSO. Member States are free to devise their own method of compensation, but irrespective of the method used, compensation must comply with the basic […]

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4. Juni 2014 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Cost of not Recovering Incompatible Aid

Flag of Spain

Flag of Spain

The Commission is not obliged to quantify precisely the amount of aid that has to be recovered. The Member State that fails to recover incompatible aid or fails to recover all of it risks legal action against both before national and EU courts. The Commission may initiate infringement proceedings and request the Court of Justice to impose penalties against the failing Member […]

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