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ARTICLES – ENERGY AND STATE AID CONTROL ∙ Balancing Environmental Protection, Competitiveness and Competition: A Critical Assessment of the GBER and the EEAG

Jerónimo Maillo

DOI https://doi.org/10.21552/estal/2017/1/4



Looking at EU State aid control of environmental taxation, and in particular at the General Block Exemption Regulation and the Environmental Guidelines, this article makes a critical assessment of the balance between competitiveness, environmental protection and competition. After identifying the meaning and the role of the protection of environment, competition and competitiveness in this context, the contribution focuses on the conditions of compatibility of environmental tax reliefs in both the GBER and the Environmental Guidelines. It assesses how the balance between these three general interests is designed in these two legal instruments, as well as whether and how it can be improved. It is concluded that the conditions therein laid down to assess the compatibility of a tax relief with EU State aid law are not strict enough and leave Member States too much leeway for granting such tax reliefs. It finally gives some guidance on how to improve it.
Keywords: Environmental Aid; Fiscal Aid; Energy Taxation; GBER; EEAG; Balancing Test; Competitiveness.

Jerónimo Maillo, Professor of EU Law and Coordinator of the Centre for Competition Policy, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid. This contribution is based on a research developed within the Jean Monnet project ‘Energy Taxation and State Aid Control: looking for a better coordination and efficiency (ETSA-CE)’ Ref.: 553321-EPP-1-2014-1-ES-EPPJMO-PROJECT. It was also presented at the ‘17th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation. Smart instrument mixes in a greening economy’ held on 22-23/9/2016 in Groningen. DOI: 10.21552/estal/2017/1/4

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