State aid
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Commission launches sector inquiry into mechanisms to ensure electricity supplies
29 April 2015
The Commission has launched a state aid sector inquiry into national measures to ensure that adequate capacity to produce electricity is available at all times to avoid black-outs (so-called "capacity mechanisms").
The inquiry will gather information on capacity mechanisms to examine, in particular, whether they ensure sufficient electricity supply without distorting competition or trade in the EU Single Market.
It complements the Commission's Energy Union strategy to create a connected, integrated and secure energy market in Europe.
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Commission refers Italy to Court for failure to recover illegal state aid
29 April 2015
The Commission has decided to refer Italy to the EU Court of Justice because it did not recover state aid illegally granted to the hotel industry in Sardinia.
In 2008, the Commission had ordered Italy to recover incompatible state aid of around € 15 million granted to some hotel companies in Sardinia.
In 2012, the Court ruled that Italy had failed to recover the aid, in breach of the Commission's 2008 decision.
To date, Italy has still not recovered most of the aid and the Commission now asks the Court to impose a lump sum penalty of about € 20 million and a daily penalty payment of about € 160,000 on Italy until it has fully recovered the aid.
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Commission gives guidance on local public support measures that can be granted without prior Commission approval
29 April 2015
The Commission has concluded that seven measures granting public support to purely local operations involve no state aid within the meaning of EU rules, because they are unlikely to have a significant effect on trade between Member States.
The decisions concern the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
They provide Member States and stakeholders with additional guidance to determine which cases do not need to be cleared by the Commission under EU state aid rules.
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