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Is There a Role for Economic Analysis When Deciding on State Aid to Public Broadcasters? journal article

Caroline Buts, Mychal Langenus, Karen Donders

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 4, Page 537 - 558

By means of text analysis, this article examines the use of economic concepts and tools in State aid decisions regarding public broadcasters. We find that broad and general concepts are most frequently used and that more specific economic terms that can be found in the Broadcasting Communication surface rather seldomly in the public version of decision texts. Furthermore, we do not observe a substantial difference between the use of these terms before and after the adoption of the v2009 Broadcasting Communication suggesting that economic concepts are not more frequently used in recent years. We believe that economic analysis could bring additional clarity and support in several of the studied decisions, especially in cases where, for example, it is quite debatable which tasks fall under a public service obligation and which do not. Economic analysis would foster the evolution to a stricter and more rational State aid control in this exceptional sector preventing potential spillover-effects of aid into new activities. Keywords: State Aid; Media; Public Service Broadcasting; Economic Analysis.


Not Even the Church Is Absolved from State Aid Rules: The Essence of Economic Activity journal article

Phedon Nicolaides

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 4, Page 527 - 536

The boundaries of the concept of economic activity are constantly shifting. This paper examines the case of schools run by the church and funded by the State. The Court of Justice concluded that wholly State-funded education is not economic in nature. The paper criticises this approach of the Court. The source of funding should not have been the decisive criterion, for the simple reason that State aid to enterprises is also provided by the State. The decisive criterion should have been whether the purpose of the funding was to support an activity which was intended to be offered for remuneration. Keywords: Economic Activity; State Resources; Public Education.


ARTICLES - STATE AID AND NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS ∙ Taxation and Limits to State Aid: the Case Law of The CJEU on Regional Selectivity and Its Application by Spanish Courts journal article

Saturnina Moreno González

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 340 - 353

This work illustrates the Commission’s initial position and the evolution of EU case law regarding “regional, geographical or territorial” selectivity in tax matters, the issues raised by said case law and the interpretation and application made by Spanish judicial courts in this respect. Keywords: Regional Selectivity; Tax Benefit; Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Distribution of Tax Competences; Right of Proof.


ARTICLES - STATE AID AND NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS ∙ Damages Claims Based on State Aid Law Infringements journal article

Joanna Goyder, Margot Dons

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 418 - 430

Damages claims based on State aid law infringements may be brought in a number of situations. There is an EU law cause of action, and sometimes also a national law basis, for claims by competitors of the aid recipient, or by third parties, against the Member State or other body which granted the aid. Competitors may also claim damages from the beneficiary, but such claims can only be brought if national law provides a cause of action. Finally, the recipient itself may claim damages from the granting Member State or other body, but an EU law cause of action will normally not be available, so such a claim will also generally have to be based on national law. All these types of damages claim are rare in practice, and even more rarely successful. The main reason for this appears to be the difficulty for claimants to prove causation and to quantify their loss. Keywords: Damages Claims; Infringements; Enforcement Notice; National Courts.


ARTICLES - STATE AID AND NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS ∙ State Aid Assessment: What National Courts Can Do and What They Must Do journal article

Jose Luis Buendía Sierra, Miguel Ángel Bolsa Ferruz

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 408 - 417

The article explores the powers and duties of national courts when they enforce EU State aid law, particularly when, by virtue of the stand-still obligation pursuant to Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, they are faced with the assessment of whether a national measure constitutes illegal State aid. It also analyses a number of mechanisms or tools available in this context for national courts to cooperate with the European Commission and the European Courts, with the primary objective of preventing contradictory decisions or judgments rendered by different authorities at national and EU level. In this vein, the article also critically reviews the 2009 Commission Notice on the enforcement of State aid by national courts, which in the authors’ view sometimes goes beyond what is required by the applicable case law. The scope of measures available for national judges is certainly much wider than the scope of measures imposed on national judges. Keywords: Powers and Duties of National Courts; 2009 Commission Notice; State Aid Enforcement.


DHL Leipzig-Halle  ∙ Case T-452/08 ∙ Annotation by Daniel Harrison journal article

Developments since the Judgment of the General Court in DHL Leipzig-Halle

Daniel Harrison

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 487 - 494

As the case of DHL-Leipzig Halle demonstrated, the possibility that contractual measures implementing an unlawful aid measure are invalid and unenforceable can give rise to a curious paradox: where the State assumes a contingent liability that has not yet crystallised, unenforceability of the contractual "advantage" may mean that unlawful aid is, like Schrödinger's cat, both present and absent at the same time. This article looks at the two cases since DHL Leipzig-Halle that have cited the judgment, before considering other areas in which contractual unenforceability of State aid measures can impose adverse – and often unfair – consequences on parties that have received no advantage or benefit from the aid measure in question: State guarantees and warranties and indemnities given to buyers of privatised businesses. Keywords: Unlawful Aid; State Guarantee; Borrower's Liabilities; Warranties and Indemnities; Privatisation; DHL Leipzig-Halle; Aer Lingus.


ARTICLES - STATE AID AND NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS ∙ How to Ensure State Aid Compliance at Local and Regional Level? journal article

Christian Berger

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 476 - 481

It is the Member State which is responsible for all State aid granted by authorities on its territory. At the same time, it might not even be aware of aid which may have been granted by a regional or local authority. Local and regional authorities are like the Member State itself active in many fields, both economic and non-economic and sometimes pursue an interventionist aid granting policy on its local territory. It is therefore paramount that the State establishes structures which make sure those local and regional authorities do not grant illegal aid. Member States have adopted different approaches towards this. Most rely on soft measures such as awareness-raising and training, while other have coupled this with more organised enforcement structures or hard legislation. Both central and more federative or devolved Member States face the same problem; the latter has just moved the enforcement responsibility to a different level of government. But in the end, the Member State’s fundamental responsibility remains. Keywords: State Aid Compliance; Local and Regional Level; Enforcement.


ARTICLES - STATE AID AND NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS ∙ National Judges and Training in EU State aid Law journal article open-access

Erika Szyszczak

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 16 (2017), Issue 3, Page 470 - 475

The latest Call from the European Commission identifies the training of national judges in EU State aid law as one of its priority areas. The number of State aid cases at the national level is increasing and present complex issue of law and economics for national judges to solve. A recent training session at the Spanish Judicial School in Barcelona reveals how a successful programme of training can be organised, highlighting the many recent State aid issues that have been identified in European Commission policy documents and Decisions and case law of the European Courts. Keywords: National Judges; Training Programmes; Law and Economics.