State aid

Energy Policy, Euratom Treaty, European Court of Justice, Nuclear Energy, State aid, Sustainability, United Kingdom

(Greenberg Traurig Germany LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Months before the prospective final Brexit, the ECJ laid what is in all likelihood the last State aid milestone on the UK’s path out of the European Union – at the same time, the ECJ’s judgment in the „Hinkley Point C“ case (Case C-594/18 P Austria v Commission) is a farewell gift to the remaining…

Apple, European Union, State aid, Taxation

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

The General Court’s awaited ruling in the Apple[1] case contains some surprising parts, and it is not easily reconciled with case law from this Court and from the Court of Justice. But as in the Fiat[2] and Starbucks[3] cases, it reveals an impressive effort to analyse the issues at depth. The facts are described in…

Apple, Competition law, Fiscal aid, Ireland, State aid, Taxation, Vestager

(Athens Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Some cases just have it all; the Apple case is one of them. First, size: at more than thirteen billion euros, the recovery order Ireland had to enforce dwarfed the previously biggest one (EDF, at around one billion euros). Second, international political implications: the case ignited transatlantic tensions between the EU and the USA, both…

COVID-19, European Commission, European Union, Private investment, Start-up, State aid, Temporary Framework

(Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium) and , (Kirkland & Ellis)/ /Leave a comment

On 29 June 2020, the European Commission (“EC”) adopted a third amendment to the Temporary Framework of 19 March 2020 (“Temporary Framework”) to extend the options available to Member State governments seeking to support their economies further. Specifically, the assistance covers aid for smaller companies as well as means of encouraging additional investment from the…

Competition law, COVID-19, European Commission, State aid

(Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium) and (Kirkland & Ellis)/ /1 Comment

The EU Commission (“EC”) has, for the second time, expanded its Temporary Framework of 19 March 2020 (“Temporary Framework”) to provide national governments with further guidance and additional tools to support distressed companies amidst the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. As noted in our last blog post covering the first amendment to the Temporary…

State aid, Ukraine

, (Redcliffe Partners)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 March 2020, the Ukrainian Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court“) upheld the first decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMC“) on the unlawfulness of state aid. In November 2018, the AMC recognised as unlawful state aid in the form of subsidies granted by the local government authority to the public utility company…

COVID-19, Europe, European Commission, State aid

, (Kirkland & Ellis) and (Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

Our previous blog post covered the EU Commission’s (“EC”) Temporary Framework of 19 March 2020 (“Temporary Framework”), which aims at enabling national governments to use the full flexibility of State aid rules to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the adoption of the Temporary Framework a number of Member States…

COVID-19, European Commission, European Union, State aid

, (Kirkland & Ellis) and (Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium)/ /1 Comment

Overview Given the unprecedented challenge faced by European businesses in the wake of the public health measures being adopted, the EU and its Member States are taking extraordinary measures to minimise the economic fallout from COVID-19. Over the coming weeks, Member States will make available billions in financial aid an in a speech on 13…

Arm's length principle, European Union, State aid, Tax

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

The General Court of the European Union has issued two awaited rulings in the Starbucks[1] and Fiat[2] cases. The length and the depth of the analysis made by the judges of the General Court should be acknowledged, even if certain key issues are perhaps too rapidly dealt with. Although the Commission lost in Starbucks, the…

State aid, Ukraine

, (Marchenko Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Following the entry of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (“Agreement”), Ukraine adopted basic state aid regulations which became effective from August 02, 2017. Bringing Ukrainian state aid regulations in compliance with the EU legislation is expected to come soon to a more definitive stage. Despite the progress made during the first two years when the state aid…