Valentine Lemonnier

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 2, Seite 123 - 131

On 1 February 2023, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen presented the Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age. With this plan, the European Commission aims to enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s net-zero industry and, simultaneously, support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The plan lays out several reform proposals. A reform of EU State aid rules was also put on the table. On 9 March 2023, the European Commission adopted the new Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), as well as the reform of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). This article provides an overview of the background and outcome of the latest State aid reform, with a particular focus on the TCTF. Keywords: Green Deal Industrial Plan; Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF); Temporary Crisis Framework (TCF); EU Green Deal; Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

Clemens Ziegler

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 21 (2022), Ausgabe 3, Seite 237 - 250

The article discusses the European Commission’s recent State aid practice regarding lignite- and coal-fired power plants and their decommissioning in the context of the European Green Deal. It is based on the Commission’s decisions regarding the Dutch Hemweg plant, the German coal- and lignite phase-out and the rescue- and restructuring aid in favour of the Romanian electricity producer Complexul Energetic Oltenia. The author considers that the Commission’s mentioned State aid practice is far from living up to the Commission’s binding commitments under the 8th environmental action programme. To ensure that no-one is left behind, as the Green Deal postulates, the author suggests strengthening the rights of interested parties in State aid proceedings and to give environmental NGOs the status of such an interested party, which would also enable them to bring direct actions before the EU Courts. Keywords: energy; fossil fuels; environmental law; (in)consistency; Green Deal

Birgitte Jourdan-Andersen, Astrid Skjønborg Brunt

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 21 (2022), Ausgabe 3, Seite 266 - 277

This article presents and analyses Taxonomy and the new State Aid Guidelines on Climate, Environmental Protection, and Energy (CEEAG), two regulatory regimes applicable for financing and support schemes for energy and climate projects. The article also addresses the necessary infrastructure development for delivering Europe's 2030 and 2050 climate targets, Europe's Green Deal, where both private and public funding are required. The EU Taxonomy is a transparency tool and a classification system to propel sustainable private investments. CEEAG are key for establishing the required public funding and support schemes. CEEAG oblige the Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) to pay particular attention to the Taxonomy. Not only will the private capital have to ‘tune in’ to the Taxonomy, but all public support will also have to be assessed in line with the Taxonomy screening criteria. In analysing the CEEAG and the Taxonomy, it is argued that the novel CEEAG guidelines and Taxonomy legislation need to be viewed together and combined with the sectorial climate and energy legislation. It is argued that for any energy or climate initiative, it is essential to have regulatory oversight and not to overlook these two important pieces of legislation while approaching the massive climate and energy sectorial legislation from the EU. Where measures meet the Taxonomy requirements, the State aid assessment can be simplified. In balancing the positive and negative effects of the aid, the Commission will pay particular attention to compliance with the ‘do no significant harm' principle. Keywords: CEEAG; taxonomy; infrastructure; Green Transition; Green Deal; Fit for-55

Steven Verschuur, Cecilia Sbrolli

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 20 (2021), Ausgabe 1, Seite 41 - 50

The European Green Deal is the prelude and the foundation of a daunting, but necessary, environmental-centric industrial revolution. EU legislation has obviously dealt with environmental policies in the past, but the European Green Deal is a far-reaching project that will require unprecedented investments. The transition envisioned in the European Green Deal will also require amendments to a wide variety of existing EU legislation and policies, including in the field of State aid. The guidelines on regional State aid (2014 Regional Guidelines), in force until the end of 2021, constitute the legal framework in force to assess Regional State aid. The European Commission has already published draft Guidelines to replace the 2014 Guidelines (Draft Regional Guidelines) to bring the text in line with the European Green Deal. This paper is the second of a series that will discuss the interplay between existing State aid rules and policy on the one hand and the European Green Deal on the other. The first article provided an introduction to the European Green Deal and its interaction with the guidelines for State aid for environmental protection and energy (EEAG). This second article will focus on the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) and its interplay with the Draft Regional Guidelines. Keywords: European Green Deal; regional State aid; Just Transition; outermost territories; financing the transition

Vittoria Musardo

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 20 (2021), Ausgabe 2, Seite 217 - 228

The current revision of the Energy and Environmental State aid guidelines (EEAG) represents a unique opportunity to update and adapt the current regime to reflect the latest EU regulatory and policy developments on climate change and environmental protection and especially the new goals of the European Green Deal. In this context, it becomes paramount to develop a clear and consistent approach for singling out aid measures which are truly capable of bringing about a further level of environmental protection, necessary for attaining such bold and farsighted objectives. The present article will seek to develop a consistent evaluation model for identifying aids which are truly environmental in nature, ensuring that the advantages allocated are targeted and limited to what is strictly necessary. This standard will build on the potential for a strategic use of the Incentive Effect criteria in the assessment of the compatibility of aid measures, aimed at making sure that the behavioural shifts induced by the latter are capable of attaining a level of environmental benefit consistent with the heightened environmental objectives introduced by the Green Deal. Keywords: Green Deal; EEAG; Incentive Effect; renewable energy; environmental aid.

Steven Verschuur, Cecilia Sbrolli

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 19 (2020), Ausgabe 3, Seite 284 - 289

The European Green Deal is the prelude and the foundation of a daunting, but necessary, environmental-centric industrial revolution. EU legislation has obviously dealt with environmental policies in the past, but the European Green Deal is a far-reaching project that will require unprecedented investments. The transition envisioned in the European Green Deal will also require amendments to a wide variety of existing EU legislation and policies, including in the field of State aid. The Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy (EEAG), in force until the end of 2021, are the legal framework in force to assess environmental State aid. This raises the question whether these Guidelines are a suitable instrument to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal. This paper is the first of a series that will discuss the interplay between existing State aid rules and policy on the one hand and the European Green Deal on the other. It will provide a broader introduction to the European Green Deal and its envisaged means of financing and will discuss the application of the incentive effect to the State aid assessment of national support measures to achieve objectives of the European Green Deal. Keywords: EU Green Deal, Environmental and Energy Guidelines, incentive effect, environmental targets, financing

Simone Lünenbürger, Clemens Holtmann, Juliette Delarue

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 19 (2020), Ausgabe 4, Seite 418 - 429

The Commission has announced its intention to revise a series of State aid rules (GBER and a number of guidelines) in light of the Green Deal by the end of 2021. At the same time, the Commission is examining how competition policy can be more effective to combat climate change and contribute to the protection of the environment. This article demonstrates that environmental protection requirements can and must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union's State aid policy, not only when it comes to environmental aid. Article 11 TFEU provides for a legal obligation on the Commission to integrate environmental protection requirements into the definition and implementation of Union policies, including State aid policy. It is shown how this obligation can be integrated into the traditional assessment scheme, notably under Article 107 (3)(c) TFEU and how it can be broken down into concrete compatibility assessment criteria. Keywords: Green Deal; environmental protection; Article 11 TFEU; State aid policy; guidelines