Emma Besselink

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 21 (2022), Issue 4, Page 454 - 457

Eleni Leftheriotou, Katerina Nikolaidou

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 21 (2022), Issue 4, Page 430 - 435

In this case note we comment the findings of Case C-251/21 regarding Article 30 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. In particular, the aid applied for in respect of a micro-reserve, created in a forest in pursuance of the objectives of Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds, falls within the scope of Article 30. Furthermore, we comment as well as that  Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 declaring certain categories of aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas that are compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU has the meaning that aid applied for on the basis of Regulation No 1305/2013, in respect of a micro-reserve created in a forest in pursuance of the objectives of Directive 2009/147, by an undertaking in difficulty, within the meaning of Article 2(14) of Regulation No 702/2014, cannot be declared compatible with the internal market under the latter Regulation.

Katrine Lillerud

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 18 (2019), Issue 3, Page 239 - 248

National registers on individual aid grants above €500 000 became mandatory from 1 July 2016. The European Commission hopes the registers will promote compliance, raise awareness on aid granted and function as a disciplinary measure. They count on the registers to ensure better control at the national level, by incentivising beneficiaries to comply and by providing enough information for competitors to check whether aid was lawfully granted. This article provides a case study of how the national registers function in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The three European Economic Area States are an interesting case study as they are the only countries that have opted for their own national transparency registers, whilst the EU Member States all use the Commission’s portal. The findings show that the transparency registers currently do not provide the information required for competitors to assess the compatibility of an aid measure with the internal market. Almost all the published aid measures lack a link to the national legal basis or the granting authorities’ decision on the individual aid measure. These shortcomings are easily corrected. However, if left unattended, they arguably render block exempted aid unlawful. Currently, the effect of the national registers appears to be that they induce competitors to apply for aid rather than litigate on it. Keywords: Ex post evaluation; Block exemptions; National transparency registers; Individual aid; Privatization of State aid enforcement; Transparency communication

María Muñoz de Juan

European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 17 (2018), Issue 4, Page 483 - 493

Ex post monitoring is a counterpart of the State aid decentralisation process and, as such, is a cornerstone of the current State aid control system. The application of State aid rules is being increasingly decentralised thanks to the significant use of the block exemption Regulations by the Member States. However, this does not mean that the Commission is giving up its powers and obligations under the Treaty. On the contrary, it closely follows — through ex post controls — how State aid measures are implemented by the Member States. This Commission-level monitoring exercise aims to correct the detected irregularities both for the past and for the future and helps to improve State aid rules. It has a measurable deterrent effect. Keywords: State aid; enforcement; monitoring; ex post control; SAM; decentralisation; block exemption regulation.