State aid

Enforcement, European Commission, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Merger control, Mergers, State aid, Subsidies

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With the introduction of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Union (EU) embarked on a new regulatory era. This landmark regulation aims at addressing the distortive effects of subsidies granted by foreign – non-EU – countries to companies operating within the EU, and ensuring a level playing field and fair competition across the internal…

Conference, European Commission, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Geopolitics, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger Thresholds, State aid, State owned enterprise (SOE), Subsidies, Tender, Trade Law

(Simmons & Simmons) and (University of Antwerp)/ /Leave a comment

Adopted in November 2022, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is the latest arrival in the EU competition toolbox. Having just celebrated its second anniversary and with a few cases under its belt, the FSR is still the object of much discussion and curiosity from practitioners and stakeholders. To contribute to this debate, an expert panel…

Apple, European Court of Justice, State aid, Subsidies, Tax, Taxation

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On September 10, 2024, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or Court) sided with the European Commission (Commission) and ruled that two Irish subsidiaries of Apple Inc. received unlawful state aid from Ireland in the form of a tax advantage (Case C-465/20 P). Ireland has reported that it will now finalise the recovery of approximately…

Energy Policy, European Union, Netherlands, State aid

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Introduction This judgment of the Court of Justice (ECJ) of 13 June 2024 concerns the question if the European Commission (EC) may declare a national measure compatible with the internal market without first determining whether the measure constitutes aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. It might be said that it does not matter…

General Court of the European Union, Judicial review, MEO Principle, State aid

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Introduction By judgment of 10 April 2024, the General Court (GC) annulled  Decision 19.4.2018 –  SA.37433 of the European Commission (EC) finding that Danish legislation concerning charges for wastewater treatment did not constitute State aid. In my view, the GC misapplied the Market Economy Operator Principle (MEOP) in this case when it assessed the legislation…

Apple, Competition law, State aid

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On November 9th 2023, the Advocate General (“AG”) Pitruzzella published his Opinion on the Apple state aid case. More specifically, in Commission v Ireland & Apple (Case C‑465/20 P), the AG proposed to the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) that it annul the General Court’s (“GC”) ruling in the Apple case, refer the cases back…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, State aid, United States of America

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European Union and United States legislators are increasingly concerned about the potentially distortive effects “foreign” subsidies may have on M&A transactions. EU and US authorities are both poised to require transaction parties to provide extensive information to allow authorities to evaluate subsidies granted by other jurisdictions. How do these initiatives compare, and how will the…

European Union, Industrial policy, Recovery plan, State aid, Temporary Crisis Framework

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Introduction State aid rules have existed since the Rome Treaty and have a negative integration logic: Member States should refrain from distorting competition by helping their own undertakings (an in-depth analysis on state aid, in Hancher, Ottervanger and Slot, see here). These rules naturally trigger tension between what Member States can do with their money…

Arm's length principle, European Commission, State aid, Tax, Taxation

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With its judgment of 8.11.2022, the ECJ’s Grand Chamber put an end to the Commission’s recent case practice on transfer pricing rulings. In 32 paragraphs (paras 81-112), it seems to have demolished an 8-year laborious effort of the Commission’s DG COMP and Legal Service to employ State aid rules against the advance transfer pricing agreements…

Brexit, Foreign subsidies, State aid, Subsidies, United Kingdom

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Following its exit from the European Union, the UK is no longer bound by the EU’s rules governing public subsidies.  At the end of April 2022, the UK Parliament passed the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which sets out a new framework for granting and controlling public subsidies.  The Act is expected to enter into full…