Przemyslaw Kamil Rosiak, Ewa Sitarz

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 23 (2024), Ausgabe 1, Seite 81 - 84

Gaetano Maria Giovanni Reale

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 23 (2024), Ausgabe 1, Seite 15 - 21

The Italian State aid register is a central and unique database for all aid granted by national authorities. It is a powerful tool that allows the public to track in real-time the aid granted by different authorities to various beneficiaries on a legal basis. Competitors can use the register data to verify if their rivals have been granted aid, the number of aids received and if these aids have been granted legally. This makes the register a valuable resource for legal actions. The register data can also be used for policy analysis and to help improve policy design. Some research institutes have already started to utilise the data provided by the register for these purposes. This article looks at Italy's experience in implementing a State aid register, to serve as a guide for other Member States. Keywords: Italy; Transparency; National State Aid Register; GBER

Peter Hodál, Patrik Giertl

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 23 (2024), Ausgabe 2, Seite 231 - 232

Phedon Nicolaides

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 23 (2024), Ausgabe 2, Seite 136 - 142

A recent judgment has confirmed that the European Commission’s consideration of the positive and negative effects of State aid, in the context of its assessment of the compatibility of aid with the internal market, may be “succinct”. The meaning of “succinct” consideration is unclear. Also unclear is how the Commission performs the broader “balancing” of the diverse and often non-comparable effects of State aid. Therefore, this paper proposes that, for the sake of clarity and transparency, the Commission adopts a conceptually simpler approach which in fact corresponds to its current practice. It should state explicitly that compatible State aid must satisfy certain positive criteria without having any manifest negative effects. Such an approach would also be consonant with the case law of the European Court of Justice. Keywords: Assessment of State aid, weighing, balancing, positive effects, negative effects.

Péter Staviczky

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 1, Seite 78 - 85

Wout De Cock

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 1, Seite 69 - 77

It is well-established that national courts play a crucial role in terms of enforcement of EU State aid law. However, it also well-known that this role is undervelopped in many EU Member States. For example, Belgian State aid courts face all sorts of uncertainties and difficulties when enforcing EU State aid law. This contribution therefore argues that the Belgian State should take (regulatory) measures to ensure that Belgian courts can enforce EU State aid law. Kyewords: Belgian courts; enforcement; standstill obligation; unlawful State aid; obstacles and uncertainties; regulatory framework

Marianne Clayton, Gaétan Roelants du Vivier, Matthieu Jamart

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 1, Seite 89 - 94

The judgment of the General Court in Case T-392/20 Flašker v Commission addresses the procedural concept of serious difficulties and the scope of the Commission’s obligation, when investigating complaints, to carry out a thorough examination beyond the mere information provided by the complainants and the national authorities which is also applicable in the context of existing aid. In particular, the General Court reaffirmed the Commission’s responsibility to conduct a proper investigation when faced with serious allegations and insisted that the Commission cannot rely on the fact that the complaint may not be sufficiently substantiated as an argument for dismissing it. More novel, the General Court noted that the Commission had disregarded the existing procedural rules by adopting a decision finding that, assuming that a measure constitutes aid, it amounts to existing aid, but unfortunately did not draw any further conclusions.

Phedon Nicolaides

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 2, Seite 132 - 149

A fundamental criterion of the compatibility of State aid with the internal market is the presence of incentive effect. State aid must be able to change the behaviour of the recipient undertakings. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it reviews recent case law and Commission decisions on the presence or absence of incentive effect. Second, it argues that this simple, yet fundamental criterion of compatibility suffers from a serious weakness. Third, it proposes an alternative method for establishing the existence of an incentive effect. Even when the aid is granted before the start of work, it does not necessarily follow that it induces the recipient to do something extra. A savvy company that knows how State aid rules work can adjust its investment plans in such a way as to qualify for aid, even when it does not really need it. Therefore, the new approach proposed in this article goes beyond the current test of the existence of incentive effect, asking not just whether a specific investment or project would not be carried out without the aid, but also whether the project is ‘discretionary’, in the sense that it is not indispensable for the continued operation of the recipient company. Keywords: incentive effect; necessity of State aid; indispensable expenditure; discretionary expenditure

Anduena Gjevori

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 2, Seite 161 - 174

Since the adoption of the first State aid law by North Macedonia, the Western Balkan (WB) countries have shown – to a certain degree – the willpower to approximate the laws adopted in the field of State aid with the EU State aid acquis. However, the first State aid commissions closely linked to the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Economy had an essential weakness in their institutional structure. This article aims to establish a connection between the chosen types of State aid regulators in the WB and their operability during the transposition and enforcement of the Temporary Framework for Covid-19 outbreak. In this framework, the article examines the transposition of the Temporary Framework of March 2020 into the national legislations of the WB countries. Moreover, it analyses selected decisions granting Covid-19 State aid, comparing them with the Temporary Framework. Only two out of six countries of the WB, under analysis, (partially) transposed the Temporary Framework. The Covid-19 State aid has been mostly retroactively approved and has, in some cases, been implemented without being assessed by the relevant State aid authorities. Even in the few cases that have been notified, Covid-19 State aid has been granted in contradiction with the Temporary Framework. Additionally, the few decisions imposing conditions for Covid-19 State aid have not been implemented by the appropriate public authorities. Keywords: EU candidate countries; State aid monitoring authorities; Temporary Framework; Covid-19

Christopher Yukins

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Jahrgang 22 (2023), Ausgabe 2, Seite 181 - 187