EStAL 1|2010 Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri v Regione Sardegna: Annotation 161 I. Introduction On 17 November 2009 the ECJ gave its judgment in the first-ever preliminary reference made by the Italian Supreme Court, which may have contributed to the involvement of a Grand Chamber for this occasion in what seemed to be a relatively clear-cut case at first sight. From a state aid point of view this case may be either of the utmost importance or r