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. Februar 2014  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Guidelines on State Aid to Promote Risk Finance Investments
financial graph
Introduction   On 15 January the Commission adopted the fourth set of guidelines for the programming period 2014-2020 [the first three were those on broadband, SGEI, and regional aid]. The latest guidelines replaced those on risk capital for SMEs. What is immediately noticeable from the title of the new guidelines is that they are not confined only to funding in […]
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28. Januar 2014  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Services of General Economic Interest and Horse Racing
horse racing
Introduction Public authorities often argue that the activities they support are important and that they should be considered as services of general economic interest. However, in many cases they are not. In this article I review the Commission Decision 2014/19 concerning a parafiscal levy that was intended to fund supposedly public service obligations assigned to French horse racing companies.[1] This Decision […]
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21. Januar 2014  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Possibly Conflicting Roles of EU Institutions on State Aid
EU flag
Introduction On 10 December 2013, the Court of Justice, in C‑272/12 P, wrote another chapter in the long-running case of the exemption from excise taxes for alumina producers in France, Ireland and Italy. This is not the last chapter. The Court annulled a judgment of the General Court and referred the case back to the General Court. In fact this […]
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10. Januar 2014  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The Non-Equivalence of the Various Methods of Supporting Green Electricity
electrical sockets
Introduction Ever since the judgment of the Court of Justice in 2001 on PreussenElektra [case C-379/98], Member States have been grappling with the question of how to support electricity from renewable resources [green electricity] without granting State aid. In PreussenElektra the Court found that there was no transfer of state resources and no State aid, because the German government imposed […]
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2. Januar 2014  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

The New Rules on De minimis Aid for 2014-2020: Regulation 1407/2013
EU comission
Introduction[1] It is appropriate to start this year’s articles on State aid with an appraisal of one of the most important new legislative items for the period 2014-2020: the new de minimis rules. The European Commission adopted the new de minimis Regulation in mid-December and the formal text was published just before Christmas in the Official Journal of 24 December […]
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20. Dezember 2013  |   State Aid Uncovered von Phedon Nicolaides

Economically Rational Environmental Aid
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
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
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
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
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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