State Aid And The Energy Sector

This important new work offers a comprehensive and compelling account of State aid law and policy and its application to the energy sector. Clearly structured and offering meticulous detail and robust analysis, it is required reading for all practitioners in the field. The volume explores general questions from the definition of State aid to its application in Member States by national courts. It also examines questions of procedure, questions of compatibility, and State aid and the EEA. It is an invaluable tool for lawyers, policymakers and tax professionals specialising in State aid law and energy law, written by a team of leading practitioners and academics in the field.

Europe’s energy State aid guidelines no longer reflect the market reality and need to be carefully revised. This study looks at the existing rules and provides recommendations for the revised guidelines to effectively contribute to accelerating the decarbonisation of Europe’s economy. It calls on the European Commission to pursue a combined approach that looks at reinforcing both common objectives and specific State aid measures. Since the approval of the latest Guidelines for State Aid for Energy and Environmental Protection (EEAG) in 2014, the EU institutions have agreed to accelerate the decarbonisation process to reach a climate-neutral economy by 2050. This strong impetus heavily influences the energy market where we see new economic models and types of actors emerging, and where there has been significant technological progress over the past years. The energy and environmental protection State aid guidelines no longer reflect the market’s reality and need to be revised carefully. As Brussels is about to kick off the revision of the EEAG, this report provides recommendations for new rules that effectively contribute to fast-tracking the transition towards low carbon energy systems in a cost-efficient way. Above all, Brussels should align the new rules with its 2030 climate and energy transition targets. “The EEAG reform should combine approaches that look both at common objectives and specific aid measures. This requires a significant evolution of the current regime whilst ensuring smooth continuity. Defining clear criteria to assess the contribution of a specific State aid measure to the ‘common interest’ is of utmost importance. The revised EEAG should strengthen these assessment criteria, including for specific aid measures. They must promote technology neutrality and consider the energy system’s resilience. Among the assessment criteria, the application of the proportionality test should be improved.” - Catherine Banet, author of the report The Guidelines are part of a bigger ecosystem of rules. The EEAG work in close interaction with the general block exemption Regulation (GBER) which allows the Commission to exempt prior State aid notification – and approval – in specific cases. This has proven to be efficient and should be maintained. If, during the review, a different approach is chosen, it may impact the entire architecture of the hard and soft law ecosystem of the EU state aid regime. The Clean Energy Package for All Europeans is a driver of the reflection behind the revision of the Guidelines. The scope of application of the EEAG should reflect and build upon the provisions laid down in this package. At the same time, the new Guidelines have the challenging task of anticipating the impacts of moving climate targets from the European Green Deal and the upcoming rules to achieve them, such as the revised renewable energy directive, the revised alternative fuels infrastructure directive, the implementation of the sector integration strategy and the Hydrogen strategy. Finally, enforcing the rules is just as important as setting the right rules. The report notes that, on several occasions in its recent case law, the Court of Justice of the EU has reversed some of the European Commission’s approval decisions, with major impacts on markets. The revised Guidelines should be set and applied so as to eliminate the risk of reversals of the Commission’s decisions as much as possible. “The COVID-19 crisis is just one example of the deep uncertainties and changes our society is going through. Europe should be prepared for more disruption. We need to build a more resilient energy system that can cope with such unexpected external shocks. The energy state aid Guidelines should be an integral part of a long term sustainable recovery roadmap.” - Catherine Banet, author of the report.

This important new work offers a comprehensive and compelling account of State aid law and policy and its application to the energy sector. Clearly structured and offering meticulous detail and robust analysis, it is required reading for all practitioners in the field. The volume explores general questions from the definition of State aid to its application in Member States by national courts. It also examines questions of procedure, questions of compatibility, and State aid and the EEA. It is an invaluable tool for lawyers, policymakers and tax professionals specialising in State aid law and energy law, written by a team of leading practitioners and academics in the field.

Why do the Member States of the European Union still grant aid and is that aid compatible with the objective of integration which should result in a better allocation of resources? The main purpose of this book is to explain the principles and methods of EC state aid policy in a manner which is both accessible and useful to practitioners and policy makers, by bringing together contributions from officials (both Community and national), industry representatives, and academics. In particular, it examines both theory on the role and objective of public assistance and current practice controlling such assistance. It addresses the issue of state aid from economic, legal and administrative perspectives and offers detailed information on current practice through case studies. It also considers likely future developments in the Community framework of state aid control. Finally, this book identifies major weaknesses in the present system of state aid rules, and paves the way for a proper economic analysis of the effects of forty years of state aid policy in the European Community.

Introduction - The Law and Economics of EU State Aid Control /Vincent Verouden and Philipp Werner --Advantage /Giuseppe Conte and James Kavanagh --State Measure /Rein Wesseling and Marieke Bredenoord-Spoek --Selectivity /Michael Honoré --Distortion of Competition and Effect on Trade /Jacques Derenne and Vincent Verouden --Compatibility of Aid - General Introduction /Leigh Hancher and Phedon Nicolaides --General Block Exemption Regulation /Koert van Buiren and Alexander Rose --Ex Post Evaluation of Aid /Xavier Boutin and Inkalotta Nuotio-Osazee --Research, Development and Innovation Aid /Pascal Belmin and Hans Zenger --Regional Aid /Hans W. Friederiszick and Massimo Merola --Risk Finance Aid /Isabel Taylor and Albert Bravo-Biosca --Rescue and Restructuring Aid /Ulrich Soltész and Bruce Lyons --Services of General Economic Interest /Philipp Werner and Vincent Verouden --Infrastructure Aid /Penelope Papandropoulos and Elisabetta Righini --State Aid in the Broadband Sector /Hein Hobbelen and Oliver Stehmann --State Aid in the Postal Services Sector /Alessandra Fratini and Khaled Diaw --Transport Aid /Udo Woll and Andrew Meaney --Energy and Environmental Aid /Kai Struckmann and Geza Sapi --Aid to Broadcasting, Culture and Sport /Christine Gerlach and Dimitrios Pikios --Aid in the Banking Sector /Stan Maes and Stephen Mavroghenis --State Aid and Privatisation /Andreas von Bonin and Elisabeth Häringer.

Offering an introduction to students on the most essential elements of EU energy law and policy, this volume will be the go-to text for those seeking knowledge of EU energy regulation and its objectives, as well as an overview of energy law. Specific topics will cover the content of sector-specific energy regulation, the application and impact of general EU law on energy markets, third party access, unbundling, investment in cross-border networks, energy trading and market supervision, the application of general EU competition law on energy markets, the impact of free movement provisions, and the application of state aid rules. A structured, step by step guide through the fundamental areas of EU energy law.

This revised and updated Research Handbook on European State Aid Law brings together established academics and practitioners to provide a wide-ranging coverage of the field. Incorporating political science, economics and the law in its analysis, it provides a strong overview of the salient issues in State aid law and policy.