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. Juni 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Injection of Public Capital Can Be Free of State Aid

State Aid Blogs - m 1 4

State Aid Blogs - m 1 4

Injection of public capital in an undertaking conforms with the market economy investor principle when: The public investment is equal and concomitant to private investment. The public investment has economic significance and is not followed by disengagement of private investors. The recipient undertaking is in a healthy financial position. The recipient undertaking compares favourably to its peers. The investment is […]

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27. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring Aid, Recovery of Aid and Procedural Rights

State Aid Blogs - m 13 2

State Aid Blogs - m 13 2

Restructuring aid can finance any part of a restructuring plan. Compensatory measures initiated before the granting of restructuring aid can be taken into account as long as they are linked to the restructuring itself. Member States have to comply with the conditions defined in Commission decisions. They cannot justify non-compliance on the grounds of domestic institutional difficulties. Regional authorities that […]

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19. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Public Service Obligations: A Few More Mistakes that Can Be Avoided

State Aid Blogs - m 14 2

State Aid Blogs - m 14 2

Even efficient companies will fail the 4th Altmark criterion if their costs are not proven to be comparable to those of a typical and well-equipped undertaking. Public funding of infrastructure is not State aid to users only if access is open to all. Public funding for training to raise social awareness is still State aid if it relieves companies of […]

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12. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A National Measure that Does Not Apply at Regional Level Is Not Necessarily Selective

State Aid Blogs - m 15 2

State Aid Blogs - m 15 2

Where there is a constitutional division of tax competences, different authorities may tax similar activities at different rates. Introduction This article examines Commission decision SA.34469 on differential tax rates for online and land-based gambling in Spain.[1] In the Spanish political system, regions that have the status of Autonomous Communities have powers of taxation. The issue at hand was which authority […]

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6. Mai 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Market Operator, unlike a Public Authority, Does not Have to Treat all Customers Equally

State Aid Blogs - m 16 2

State Aid Blogs - m 16 2

In managing infrastructure, a public authority acts as a private operator when it seeks a reasonable return on its investment and also takes into account the alternative of not operating the infrastructure. The manager of an infrastructural project may charge different fees to different users to optimise usage and increase revenue. Introduction This article reviews Commission decision 2015/506 concerning […]

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29. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Do Free but Compulsory Tests Confer a Selective Advantage?

State Aid Blogs - m 27

State Aid Blogs - m 27

State aid rules apply to measures which are either harmonised at EU level or are left to the discretion of Member States. The protection of public health is no sufficient reason for removing a public measure from the scope of Article 107(1). The fact that undertakings are obliged by law to comply with certain tests does not justify the subsidisation […]

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27. April 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary – May 2015

gavel

gavel

Interested in #Stateaid? Get in touch and write a blog post or a comment for the hub! Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.eu Wednesday 06/05/2015 Judgement in Case C-674/13 Commission v Germany (Court of Justice – Second Chamber) Hearing, Joined Cases T-50/06 RENV II, T-69/06 RENVII Ireland v Commission, Aughinish Alumina v Commission (General Court – First Chamber, Extended Composition) Wednesday 13/05/2015 Judgement in Case […]

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20. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Land Development

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost47 Finance lexxion GBER SMEs

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost47 Finance lexxion GBER SMEs

The sale of land and buildings owned by a public authority conforms with the market economy operator principle when i) it is profitable, ii) there is no alternative transaction that is economically more attractive, and iii) the sale is as profitable as similar transactions concluded at the same time. Introduction The article examines Commission decision 2015/507 concerning the sale […]

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13. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

PART II: Green Electricity and Reduction of Energy Taxes for Energy-Intensive Users

State Aid Blogs - m 27 1

State Aid Blogs - m 27 1

Part II: Support of electricity production from renewable energy sources is normally compatible with the internal market. Reduction of taxes on electricity used by energy-intensive industries is allowed only for certain sectors exposed to international trade and only when they bear a certain cost. Taxes on imported electricity normally infringe free-trade and non-discrimination provisions, unless commensurate benefits are extended to […]

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7. April 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Green Electricity and Reduction of Energy Taxes for Energy-Intensive Users

State Aid Blogs - m 27 1

State Aid Blogs - m 27 1

Support of electricity production from renewable energy sources is normally compatible with the internal market. Reduction of taxes on electricity used by energy-intensive industries is allowed only for certain sectors exposed to international trade and only when they bear a certain cost. Taxes on imported electricity normally infringe free-trade and non-discrimination provisions, unless commensurate benefits are extended to imported electricity. […]

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20. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Economically Rational Environmental Aid

water processing plant

water processing plant

Introduction A few months ago I wrote an article on this blog explaining the big puzzle of environmental State aid. Since the rules allow State aid which is only a proportion of the extra costs incurred by companies investing in environmentally friendly technology, it is puzzling why they make this investment. After all, they have the option of not incurring […]

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12. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Why Can the Commission Not be Consistent in its Analysis of Economic Activity and Affectation of Trade?

antique monument

antique monument

Introduction If you ask a national official who deals with State aid to identify the most challenging aspects of working with State aid rules, the answer is likely to be “the concept of undertaking” and the “effect on trade”. Other aspects can also be challenging, but a national official is unlikely to agonise about the transfer of state resources, the […]

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6. Dezember 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Non-notified State Aid and the Role of National Courts C 284/12, Deutsche Lufthansa v Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn

airplane on the runway

airplane on the runway

Introduction What prevents a Member State from granting State aid without first notifying it to the European Commission? Cynics would answer “nothing, in fact”. Indeed, nothing can stop a country that is determined to provide a subsidy. But after the judgment in case Lufthansa v Frankfurt Hahn Airport, the answer must be “unnecessary hassle”. Even if there is a slight […]

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29. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Private Investor Principle Applied to Loans [Commission Decision 2013/528]

ship in the shipyard

ship in the shipyard

Introduction The State aid issue in this case is relatively straightforward. Nauta, a Polish shipyard, received a two-year loan from IDA, the state-owned Polish Investment Agency. Because Nauta ran into some financial trouble, the loan was extended for another two years. In Decision 2013/528, the Commission had to examine two questions: First, did the initial loan market conform? Second, if […]

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22. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

How Not to Determine the Effect on Trade [Infrastructure for Tourism, Czech Republic (SA.35909)]

Prague panorama

Prague panorama

Introduction Normally the articles in this blog identify landmark court rulings and seminal decisions of the Commission which set important precedents and provide useful guidance to State aid professionals and practitioners. This article deviates from this custom. It examines a recent case where the Commission concluded that public subsidies did not constitute State aid because intra-EU trade was not affected. […]

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15. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Private Vendor Principle: How to Organise a State-Aid-Free Sale of Public Assets

bank building

bank building

Introduction The private investor principle (PIP) or market economy investor principle is well established in the case law. A closely related concept is the private vendor principle (PVP). The PIP applies when a public authority assumes risk by investing in an undertaking, for example through the purchase of shares, injection of capital, granting of a loan or provision of […]

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8. November 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Tax Hypothecation and Economic Efficiency under Altmark: T-275/11, French Television 1 v Commission

television

television

Background France Télévisions is a limited company wholly owned by the French State. As France abolished advertising on public television, it also decided to provide financial compensation to France Télévisions. For this reason it introduced new taxes to generate revenue for the compensation: a tax on advertising and a tax on electronic communications. In January 2009, France notified to the […]

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31. Oktober 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Public Authority Can Behave Like a Private Investor even when the Beneficiary Has Little Prospect of Future Profitability

airplane flying

airplane flying

Introduction When a public authority invests in an undertaking, it must earn a return at market rates, otherwise the investment is State aid. Normally, it is much easier to prove that the investment has a reasonable prospect of profitability and, therefore, that it would be made by a private investor, when the recipient undertaking is in a good financial situation. […]

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18. Oktober 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A Case of Public Funding of Infrastructure that Does not Constitute State Aid: But Many Questions Remain

fortress

fortress

Introduction After the landmark judgment in Leipzig-Halle, public authorities are justifiably careful to ensure that the infrastructure they fund is either free of State aid or, if that is unavoidable, that the State aid is compatible with the internal market. Recent cases have shown that there are two problems in this regard. First, public authorities must verify whether the organisations […]

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11. Oktober 0213 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

New Case Law on Incentive Effect, “Private Borrower”, Advantage, Compensation, SGEI and Market Failure

gavel on a laptop

gavel on a laptop

Introduction The posting reviews three recent rulings of the General Court. They are significant because they introduce substantial nuances in the case law concerning the concepts of incentive effect, compensation for structural impediment, the designation of an activity as a service of general economic interest (SGEI) and the connection between market failure and SGEI. On the whole, the Court […]

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