Andreas Haak, Barbara Thiemann

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 21 (2022), Issue 1, Page 20 - 30

In her 2021 State of the European Union Address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed ‘the importance of investing in our European tech sovereignty’ and continued by appealing that ‘[w]e have to double down to shape our digital transformation according to our own rules’. Availability of semiconductors (also referred to as microchips or simply as chips) is essential for industry and national security alike. Without microchips there is no tech sovereignty. Given the currently fragile state of global supply chains, expanding fabrication capacity within the EU is high on the political agenda. At the same time, ensuring fair competition is of paramount importance. While tech sovereignty must be matched by sufficient State funding, it still needs to be awarded in compliance with EU State aid rules. These rules must not work as an impediment to tech sovereignty. Furthermore, the rules of the game must be the same for everyone. This regulatory objective is most evident in the draft Distortive Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Keywords: twin transition; ICPEI; supply chain; sovereignty; EU Chips Act; foreign subsidies

Andreas Haak, Michael Brüggemann

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 15 (2016), Issue 1, Page 91 - 102

The promotion of renewable energies has been one of the cornerstones of Germany’s government work for the past decade. As a result of the so-called energy transformation (Energiewende), in 2014, renewable energies reached the highest share in the “energy mix” for the first time in history. Almost a quarter of the entire German electricity production came from renewable sources. Overall, consumers spent €25 billion on green electricity in 2014. The boom of renewable energies has a severe impact on both the German economy and the environment: While established energy suppliers need to revise their business models, new branches and companies focusing on renewables emerge. Energy intensive undertakings suffer from increased energy costs. Moreover, the promotion of solar, wind and biomass energy has a tremendous impact on the landscape and agriculture. The first efforts to support wind energy were made in the 1970s resulting in the Electricity Feed Act (Stromeinspeisungsgesetz – “StrEG”) of 1991. This was the first time that the German Energy law was examined on its compatibility with EU State aid law. According to the ECJ’s PreussenElektra judgment the StrEG did not constitute State aid. Since PreussenElektra, the German Renewable Energy law has undergone a number of significant changes, culminating in the entry into force of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz – “EEG”) in 2000. The amendments of the funding scheme introduced by the continuous reformation of the EEG and exemption provisions for energy intensive undertakings led the Commission to open an in-depth investigation procedure regarding the EEG legislation of 2012 (“EEG 2012”), which was concluded by the final decision of 25 November 2014.