State Aid

Recent Articles

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  01.06.2023

  Europe

  State aid: fol­low­ing ap­peals by Ry­anair, the Gen­er­al Court of the EU an­nuls the Com­mis­sion's de­cisions ap­prov­ing aid for SAS, Deutsche Lufthansa and Itali­an air­lines

  FR

  On 11 May 2023, the General Court of the EU cancelled two European Commission decisions authorizing State aid in the form of capital injections for the airlines SAS and Deutsche Lufthansa, in particular because there was no mechanism for increasing the remuneration of the Swedish and German States' shareholdings and because of the modalities of the exit of the State. On 24 May 2023, the General Court of the EU annulled the Commission's decision of 22 December 2020 authorizing a compensation scheme for airlines holding a licence given by the Italian authorities due to a failure to state reasons....

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  25.05.2023

  Poland

  Po­land drafts bill to en­cour­age in­vest­ment in bio­gas and bio­meth­ane pro­jects

  The Polish government has adopted a bill amending the Renewable Energy Sources Act that is expected to facilitate the development of biogas and biomethane projects. This draft legislation, which was sent to the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) for legislative work on 8 May, represents another initiative (further to the draft Biogas Act described at CMS Law-Now a few weeks ago) aimed at boosting the biogas and biomethane market in Poland. The key changes to be introduced are presented below.Definition of biomethane The bill introduces a definition of biomethane, meaning “gas derived...

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  19.05.2023

  EU

  European Com­mis­sion's pub­lic con­sulta­tion on the ex­ten­sion of op­er­at­ing aid to re­gion­al air­ports

  FR

  The European Commission has recently submitted for public consultation its draft communication extending the transitional period for operating aid that can be granted to regional airports under the 2014 Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines. The Commission had already published a "call for contributions" on the extension of operating aid to regional airports in 2022 and received 26 contributions, which it published on its website. (Aviation guidelines – prolongation of operating aid to regional airports (COVID-19 response) (europa.eu))The 2014 Guidelines on State aid to airports...

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  13.04.2023

  EU

  State aid: Itali­an EUR 400 mil­lion loan for Al­it­alia qual­i­fied by the European Com­mis­sion as il­leg­al aid

  FR

  On 27 March 2023, the European Commission concluded that an Italian loan of EUR 400 million granted in 2019 in favour of Alitalia constituted illegal and incompatible aid that has to be reimbursed. Alitalia has benefitted from numerous public support measures over the years. The airline found itself in a financial pickle and was declared bankrupt in May 2017. To ensure the continuity of its operations, the Italian State provided the airline with two loans, one of EUR 900 million granted in 2017 and the second of EUR 400 million in 2019.In 2018, the European Commission opened an investigation and...

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  15.03.2023

  EU

  State aid: re­vi­sion of GBER and Tem­por­ary Crisis Frame­work to en­cour­age green and di­git­al trans­ition in the EU

  FR

  On 9 March 2023, the European Commission approved revisions to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) and the Temporary Crisis Framework with the aim of enabling Member States to provide the necessary support to key sectors in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan in order to accelerate the EU's green and digital transition.The GBER allows Member States to declare certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market without prior notification to the European Commission, provided that they comply with the general and specific conditions set out in the GBER. The GBER, which has...

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  13.03.2023

  Europe

  State aid: the Court of Justice of the EU an­nuls Com­mis­sion de­cision in the Sardini­an air­ports case

  FR

  On 17 November 2022, the Court of Justice of the EU held two judgments annulling the rulings of the General Court of the EU of 13 May 2020 for case easyJet (T-8/18) and case Volotea (T-607/17), which had upheld a European Commission decision of 29 July 2016 declaring partially incompatible an aid scheme of the Region of Sardinia in favour of easyJet (case C-343/20) and Volotea (case C-331/20). The Court also annulled the Commission decision as Volotea and easyJet are concerned because the Commission did not establish the existence of an abnormal advantage granted to these two airlines.BackgroundIn...

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