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

2. März 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

A New but Dubious Concept of Advantage [1]

State Aid Blogs - m 18 2

State Aid Blogs - m 18 2

When the Commission orders recovery of aid that is intended to be passed on to final consumers, it must first calculate the amount, if any, that has been retained by the direct recipients of the aid. If the calculation is too complex, the Commission can delegate that task to national authorities. Introduction On 5 February 2015, the General Court ruled […]

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26. Februar 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

In Brief: T-135/12 and T-385/12 France v Commission and Orange v Commission

The General Court confirmed that France granted State aid compatible with the internal market to France Télécom, in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Commission, and dismissed the actions. The Press Release can be read here and the rulings (in French) here.Last Thursday 26th February the General Court gave its rulings in Cases T-135/12 and T-385/12 France v Commission and Orange v Commission. In […]

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24. Februar 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Exclusive Rights

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State Aid Blogs - m 19 2

The granting of exclusive rights may confer an advantage but does not in itself result in transfer of state resources. Private undertakings that hold exclusive rights are not utilising state resources by the mere fact that they operate under rights conferred by the state. Price regulation is a regulatory act which does not entail transfer of state resources. Introduction […]

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18. Februar 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Failure to Satisfy Ex Post the Altmark Criteria, but Compliance with the 2014 Aviation Guidelines

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 2019 lexxion stateaid airports

State Aid Blogs - StateAidHub blogpost2 2019 lexxion stateaid airports

Public service obligations must be entrusted by an official act and defined with sufficient precision. Imprecise definition of public service obligations makes it impossible to identify the costs which are caused by such obligations. Consequently, imprecise definition of public service obligations makes it impossible to grant compensation because subsidisation of non-eligible costs cannot be excluded. Compensation may not be granted […]

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16. Februar 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Richard Craven

State aid to football clubs in Croatia?

football clubs in Croatia

football clubs in Croatia

GNK Dinamo Zagreb: Will the next act of the sports and State aid saga play out in the EU’s newest capital? The spectre of EU State aid law has loomed over professional club football in Europe since the Commission’s initiation, in 2013, of in-depth investigations into five football clubs in the Netherlands (SA.33584) and seven clubs in Spain […]

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13. Februar 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

In brief: C-37/14 Commission v France

fruit and vegetables

fruit and vegetables

On Thursday 12th February the CJEU passed down its ruling in C-37/14, finding that France did not take all necessary measures to recover aid illegally granted to the fruit and vegetable sector and thereby failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 288(4) TFEU. The full ruling is available here and the press release can be accessed here. The aid in question concerned ‘contingency plans’ […]

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10. Februar 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Lexxion Publisher

Court’s Diary and an invitation to get in touch!

gavel on a laptop

gavel on a laptop

A quick look at the month ahead in the GC/CJEU and reminder about how to get in touch with your news, views and information on how to write a post: Stateaidhub[at]lexxion.de Court’s Diary As we look to the month ahead, there are several State aid cases trickling through the EU Courts to watch out for. Here’s an update from the […]

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9. Februar 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Restructuring and the Market Economy Investor Principle

State Aid Blogs - m 20 2

State Aid Blogs - m 20 2

Different interventions that aim to finance the same restructuring plan constitute a single measure. A private investor may consider a possible damage of its reputation from laying off workers but the damage has to be quantified. Finance support of employees provides an indirect benefit to the employer. Introduction In this article I review two similar cases: a judgment of […]

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3. Februar 2015 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

i) Environmental Harm Does Not Make State Aid Incompatible with the Internal Market ii) the Market Economy Investor Principle Applied to Monopolies

State Aid Blogs - m 21 2

State Aid Blogs - m 21 2

Security of energy supply can be a service of general economic interest. Avoiding harm to the environment is not one of the principles that underpin the internal market and which may not be violated by State aid measures. Determining whether competition is distorted does not require definition of the relevant markets. This article examines two apparently different but in […]

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27. Januar 2015 | Guest State Aid Blog von Erika Szyszczak

Black Cabs in London Retain ‘Exclusive’ Rights to Drive in Bus Lanes

black cab

black cab

A detailed note on Case C-518/13 The Queen, on the application of Eventech Ltd v The Parking Adjudicator (judgment of 14th January 2015) An enduring feature of EU law is that it may be used in an opportunist manner in some of the lowest tribunals in the EU to create challenges to national rules and policies. This was how the Eventech case arose. […]

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9. Juni 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Is the Commission Abusing its Discretion, or Should Member States be Allowed to Waste their Own Money?

businessman with a mask

businessman with a mask

The European State Aid Law Institute is celebrating the eleventh anniversary of its annual conference. For the past decade a perennial issue in EStALI events but also in similar events organised by other institutions has been the complaint of national officials that the rules on state aid are too intrusive and that the European Commission attempts to exert too much […]

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8. Juni 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Public Funding of Stadiums and Arenas

sports arena

sports arena

Introduction After the judgments of the General Court and the Court of Justice on public funding of infrastructure in the now landmark case of Leipzig-Halle, the European Commission is scrutinising more closely than ever the construction and operation of stadiums and arenas. In March 2012, the Commission opened two in-depth investigations into public funding for multi-function arenas, one in Uppsala […]

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3. Juni 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Exceptional Circumstances, Natural Disasters, Commercial Risk and Rights of Complainants

tornado

tornado

This posting examines several recent measures which do not have a single common theme. However, each measure has unusual elements which should be of interest to State aid professionals. Exceptional circumstances: Commission Decision 2013/197 on aid to Cantiere Navale De Poli (IT)[1] The measure in question concerned State aid that Italy intended to provide to shipyard Cantiere Navale De Poli […]

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26. Mai 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Puzzle of Environmental Aid: Why Do Firms Make Environmental Investments?

windmills

windmills

Introduction Environmental aid is the second largest horizontal category of state aid, after regional aid. It accounts for about 24% of all aid to industry and services. Yet, one often hears from public officials that the current Environmental Aid Guidelines (EAG) do not provide sufficient incentives for environmental protection. The problem is that aid is calculated as a percentage not […]

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20. Mai 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Restrictions on Sale of Land and Social Housing

hands holding house model

hands holding house model

Introduction This posting reviews the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in two joined cases: Eric Libert, et al v Gouvernement Flamand, (C‑197/11) and All Projects & Developments NV and Others v Vlaamse Regering, (C‑203/11).[1] The judgment which was rendered on 8 May 2013 is important because it addresses several issues concerning public service obligations, their relationship with […]

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9. Mai 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Taxes and Tax Reductions on Air Travel: Selectivity and Compatibility

airplanes on the runway

airplanes on the runway

This posting examines an Irish and a German measure concerning reduction in passenger taxes. As to be expected, an important issue for both measures was whether the reduction was selective or not. The analysis of the Commission does not really break new ground. What is more instructive with these two cases is the range and ingenuity of the arguments advanced […]

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1. Mai 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Fiscal Leveraging: Donations and State Aid for Culture and Sports

runners on the track

runners on the track

Introduction In this blog I examine primarily a Dutch measure that supports cultural institutions by providing tax incentives to individuals and corporations to make donations to those institutions. This is an unusual construction because the direct beneficiaries are different from the indirect beneficiaries which, however, are the main targets of the measure. This construction has been used rather extensively in […]

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21. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Ex Post Evaluation of State Aid: A New Instrument

evaluation smileys

evaluation smileys

Introduction: The need for evaluation The State Aid Modernisation that was launched by the European Commission in May 2012 aims primarily to channel State aid to remedying genuine market failure. Subsequent policy documents have all been based on this underlying aim: to ensure that State aid is truly needed and effective in addressing market failure. The need and effectiveness of […]

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12. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Objectively Justified Pricing: The Market Economy Operator Principle

office table

office table

Introduction: Objective justification of price differentiation In a landmark judgment 25 years ago [February 1988], the Court of Justice established that business behaviour that appears to deviate from normal market practices can still conform with the market economy operator principle [MEOP] which is a variation of the better known market economy investor principle [MEIP]. Both principles are based on the […]

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7. April 2013 | State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Sale of State-owned Airlines [Commission Decision SA.33337 on sale of subsidiaries by LOT Polish Airlines]

airplane on the runway

airplane on the runway

Introduction In the previous posting I examined the funding of a regional airport. In this posting I look at a case concerning an airline; more specifically, the sale of three subsidiaries of Polish airline LOT.[1] During the past five or so years, the Commission has had to deal with many measures involving different kinds of public support to airlines [e.g. Alitalia, […]

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