In accordance with the traditional approach, State aid procedure is regarded as a dialogue between the European Commission and the Member States, in which third parties, whether they be beneficiaries, or the beneficiaries’ actual or potential competitors or even complainants, are classified merely as “sources of information”. In the well known Sytraval case (C-367/05 P), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) squashed the hopes of third parties that had built up, for a short while, in the aft...

The provision of high-quality, efficient services of general interest (SGIs) is essential in providing Europeans with the high quality of life we currently enjoy – that is why we must encourage reform in specifically this area. As a Member of the European Parliament in the Progressive Alliance for Socialists & Democrats (S&D) and especially as a member in the Intergroup Social Services and the Committee on Social and Employment Affairs, I have been closely involved in the recent developments i...

The Greek poet Archilochus said that “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing”. Hence, the hedgehog knows everything about something – the fox knows a little about everything. An Advocate General is a fox by nature. This places him in a tricky situation when addressing an audience of highly qualified experts. The risk of inadvertent banalities and unsound generalisations is high. Furthermore, an Advocate General, when speaking in his extra judicial capacity, express...

The following article draws on the presentation made by Judge O’Higgins at the European State Aid Law Conference in Brussels on 26 May 2011. His discussion of the developments in State aid cases before the European Union courts takes in contemporary questions of locus standi not only for the recipients of State aid, but also for their competitors and, in one leading case, for rival purchasers of the same raw materials. The judge also examines legal developments pertaining to SGEIs, in parti...

I. Introduction In April 2011 the European Commission launched a public consultation on the application of the 2005 EU Guidelines on the financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines from regional airports2.3 In this process the Commission is also seeking opinions on the 1994 EU Aviation Guidelines4. In light of the comments received, the Commission will decide whether the two sets of rules need to be revised and will consult further before adopting any new rules.5 This Article aims to prov...

I. Introduction The idea of developing a State aid network was launched in the 2005 State Aid Action Plan, in which the Commission announced that, to ensure a proper enforcement of its decisions, it will: “request more transparency in the general principles of State aid control and consider establishing a network of State aid authorities or contact points in order to facilitate the flow of information and exchange of best practices”, and “promote advocacy, awareness and understanding of St...

This article covers legal protection in both administrative and judicial proceedings in the field of EU funds law bordering on the area of EU State aid law. All financial assistance granted in this field emanates from the EU budget and is administered by the Commission notably through the EU structural funds. These funds purport to strengthen structural and economic development, (e.g. in agriculture), as well as regional and social cohesion and development in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of ...

I. Introduction The decision of the ECJ deals with the qualification of a payment as State aid and also repeats the ECJ’s view on several procedural principles. The ECJ confirms the strict principles developed in the case Altmark Trans and Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg for the exclusion of State aid with regard to the provision of services of general economic interest; however, in this case the ECJ found that the Commission had failed to examine the criteria properly and that accordingly ther...

In the joined cases C-92/09 and C-93/09, the ECJ held that the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 259/2008 regarding the publication of personal data relating to beneficiaries of agricultural aid are invalid on account of the fact that they conflict with the fundamental right to data protection enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In the grounds for its judgment, the ECJ mentions the principle of tran...

During the Commission’s review of a number of State aid schemes proposed by Germany, the Commission and Germany exchanged letters confirming that the schemes were subject to certain restrictions. The appellant was granted aid under the schemes but the Commission subsequently concluded that those aid grants contravened the schemes and the clearances, notably because they did not comply with the restrictions accepted during the clearance process. Largely relying on its own ignorance of the restr...

I. Introduction Following a complaint from an association of French local governments against a specific tax regime instituted for France Telecom, the European Commission investigated the particular fiscal measure in question, which was an exemption from certain business taxes that France Telecom benefited from between 1991 and 2002: – The first step was a transitional scheme, applied from 1 January 1991 until 31 December 1993, according to which France Telecom was not liable to pay corporatio...

I. Introduction The restructuring of the State-owned Greek airline, Olympic Services Airways (“OA”) led to a series of judgments of the European Courts1. The latest to date is the judgment of the General Court of 13 September 2010 (the “2010 Judgment”), which we will take a closer look at in this article2. Between 1994 and 2000, the European Commission (the “Commission”) conditionally authorised aid from Greece for the restructuring of OA3. However, in 2002 (the “2002 Decision”),...

I. Introduction It was about time. On 11 February 2011 the 1st Senate of the Federal High Court rendered two judgments which confirmed the private enforcement of State aid law in front of national German courts.1 From a European perspective, such enforcement is standard. This principle was developed in particular in the SFEI judgment of the European Court of Justice in 19962 and has been repeated ever since. National courts in the Member States have followed this approach, in particular in Franc...