Infrastructure and State aid in light of the IPCEI Communication
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Infrastructure and State aid in light of the IPCEI Communication Lena Sandberg1
Published online: 25 July 2016 © ERA 2016
Abstract This article discusses infrastructure and State aid in light of the Communication on the compatibility of State aid for the execution of important projects of common European interest (the IPCEI Communication), which has been adopted by the European Commission (Commission), with a view to have a standard approach to State aid cases involving large infrastructure projects. (Official Journal C 188 of 20.6.2014, p. 4; see also EC Press Release of 13 June 2014, available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-673_en.htm.) While the provisions set out in the Communication do indeed bring about guidance, so far only two decisions have been adopted in light of the Communication and they do not seem to be consistent- neither with each other, nor with the preceding decision-making practise of the Commission on infrastructure. Furthermore, given that the IPCEI Communication addresses the compatibility of State aid, it will only be applicable in cases where infrastructure projects involve an economic activity in the first place. This is, however, a contentious issue which has not only been the subject of several court cases, but also has been addressed in the Commission’s recent Communication on the Notion of Aid. It is all the more important given that the Commission President Juncker’s European Fund for Strategic Investments allocates a good share of the funding to infrastructure projects which may, however, risk being caught up in lengthy State aid approval procedures, and suffer delays as a result. Lena Sandberg is an Of Counsel in the Brussels office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the position of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. The author acts on behalf of the applicant (H/H Ferries) in Case T-68/15 and the applicants (Scandlines and Stena) in Cases T-630 and 631/15.
B L. Sandberg
[email protected]
1
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Avenue Louise 480, 1050 Brussels, Belgien
58
L. Sandberg
Keywords Infrastructure · Important Projects of Common European Interest · State aid
1 Introduction Transport infrastructure is not only indispensable for the functioning of a society, but it is also a prerequisite for the continued development of the global information technology; the online purchase and sale of goods can only be successful if the goods can be delivered by ship, train, truck or airplane. Each mode of transport relies on infrastructure, and while public funding of these transport modes have themselves been the subject of the Commission’s decision-making for many decades, transport infrastructure concerns were first ignored, then recognised, but never appropriately addressed. The adoption by the European Commission on 13 June 2014 of a Communication on the compatibility of State aid with the internal market to promote the execution of Important Projects of Common European Interest, is an attempt to make up for t
