Overview   State aid

The European Commission has today adopted an amendment to the Guidelines on certain State aid measures in the context of the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading post-2021 (‘ETS State aid Guidelines'). As announced in the European Chemicals Industry Action Plan, the amendment addresses the increased risk of carbon leakage for additional energy-intensive industries, due to the sustained rise of emission costs under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) in the last years. The inclusion of additional sectors will contribute to the competitiveness of EU industry while incentivising their decarbonisation.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, French restructuring aid of a total of €167.8 million to airline Corsair. The aid consists of an €80 million write-off on loans that were approved by the Commission in December 2020 and €87.8 million of additional financing. The approval is subject to conditions.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the reform of the French electricity capacity mechanism. This aid measure aims to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to produce, store or flexibly consume electricity and that electricity production meets the expected demand.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a Belgian €61 million rescue loan to rail freight operator Lineas Group SA/NV. In parallel, following a complaint the Commission received from a stakeholder, it has concluded that two past measures relating to Lineas Group do not constitute State aid.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether public support that Czechia plans to grant for the construction and operation of two new nuclear units in Dukovany is in line with EU State aid rules.

The European Commission has approved a €4.1 billion Hungarian State aid scheme to support strategic investments that add clean technology (cleantech) manufacturing capacity in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a German scheme of up to €1.6 billion to support the deployment of publicly accessible fast-charging stations for electric heavy-duty vehicles (e-HDVs) at non-serviced rest sites along the German motorways. The measure contributes to achieving the objectives of the Commission's European Green Deal and Fit for 55 package, including the development of a cross-border charging network. Electric heavy-duty vehicles are large, powerful trucks or buses that run on electricity instead of diesel.

The Commission addressed one of the most pressing needs of EU citizens by presenting the first European Affordable Housing Plan, focusing on increasing housing supply and triggering investment.
Investments in housing supply have declined over the last decade, and supply has not kept up with demand. This is due to higher construction costs, shortages of skilled labour and red tape.
Under this plan, EU State aid rules have been revised to facilitate financial support from Member States for affordable, and social housing, including: (i) No need for pre-approval from the Commission; (ii) Special exemptions and simplified compliance for non-profit entities; and (iii) Reduced reporting and streamlined checks to minimise procedural hurdles.

The European Commission has approved a €408 million Spanish scheme to support the decarbonisation of manufacturing industry, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy and is funded under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (‘RRF'). The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025.

The European Commission has approved €623 million in German State aid to support the set-up of two new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Dresden and Erfurt. The aid consists of a €495 million measure for GlobalFoundries and a €128 million measure for X-FAB. The measures will contribute to increasing the EU's autonomy and technological leadership in semiconductor technologies by supporting the construction of first-of-a-kind semiconductor facilities, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act Communication and the Commission's 2024-2029 Political Guidelines.

The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the General Court that dismisses in full Ryanair’s challenge against the legality of the Commission decision of 21 December 2021 approving EUR 2.55 billion restructuring aid for TAP.
The General Court has confirmed all the Commission’s findings.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

The European Commission has approved €47 million German State aid for Vetter Pharma, a German pharmaceutical service provider. The aid will support the establishment of a new plant for the aseptic filling of injectable medicine into vials and syringes in Saarlouis. The measure will contribute to the  EU's priorities of job creation and regional development, as well as to ensuring affordable medicines in line with the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe.

The European Commission has approved a €1.5 billion Italian State aid scheme to support strategic investments that add clean technologies (cleantech) manufacturing capacity, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025. The scheme will be co-financed from the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an aid package to support the construction and operation of the first nuclear power plant in Poland. The nuclear plant, with an electricity generation capacity of up to 3 750 MW, is scheduled to start operating in the second half of the 2030s. The project plays a central role in Poland's strategy to decarbonise electricity production.

DG COMP is organizing a “Reality Check” event on State aid private enforcement and the use of State aid rules in national courts. The Reality Check gives DG COMP the opportunity to (i) collect more detailed experiences of how EU rules work in practice in national courts, (ii) identify potential obstacles to the application of EU rules by national courts and claimants which prevent progress towards the objective of developing private enforcement of State aid rules to its full potential and (iii) identify best practices and opportunities going forward for simplification which could lead to a better use of private enforcement across the internal market, in the interest of greater competitiveness.

On 3rd December 2025, DG Competition hosted a Reality Check on the application of State aid law by national courts. The event gathered insights from judges and stakeholders on the practical challenges and opportunities in enforcing State aid rules before national courts. These inputs will inform a forthcoming Commission study on the enforcement of State aid rules by national courts in the Member States.
In case you missed it, you can watch the recorded debate.

The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice in Case C-401/24, referred by the District Court in Stockholm, Sweden.The request for preliminary ruling concerned the interpretation of Article 107 TFEU in the light of the reimbursement by Stockholms Hamn AB of the sums paid by the Swedish Maritime Administration to compensate for the abolition of passage fees for a lock. The Court ruled that an annual compensation constitutes State aid if that company can be regarded as an undertaking and if that compensation confers on it an advantage which it would not have obtained under normal market conditions.
Furthermore, Article 1(b)(i) and (c) of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that the compensation at issue constitutes existing aid.
The Commission will carefully study the judgment including to assess its implications for its case practice.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €450 million (CZK 12 billion) Czech measure to support US chipmaker Onsemi in setting up a novel integrated chip manufacturing plant for Silicon Carbide (‘SiC') power devices in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. The measure will contribute to increasing the EU's technological autonomy in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act Communication and the Political Guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029. The measure will also contribute to accelerating the digital and green transitions.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a German support measure of up to €1.75 billion in favour of Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG (‘LEAG'). The aid will compensate LEAG for the early phase-out of its lignite-fired power plants in the Lusatian mining area by 2038. The measure compensates LEAG for fixed additional costs of the early closure of plants, including social costs to support employees when transitioning to new work, as well as for forgone profits to be determined based on an approved formula.

The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court concerning its action against the Republic of Bulgaria pursuant Article 108(2) TFEU for failure to implement the Decision (EU) 2015/456. On 5 September 2014 the Commission adopted a negative decision, establishing that the swaps of publicly owned forest land with privately owned forest land that took place between 2007 and 2009 in Bulgaria involved illegal and incompatible State aid.
In today’s judgement, the Court has upheld the Commission’s action in its entirety, claiming that Bulgaria: (i) failed to implement the Decision within the period prescribed; and (ii) failed to demonstrate circumstances establishing that it was absolutely impossible to implement the Decision.
In particular, the Court emphasizes that the recovery obligation is an obligation of result, which was not met within the deadline set in the Commission decision. In addition, all the difficulties mentioned by Bulgaria constitute mere practical and legal difficulties, which do not amount to an absolute impossibility, which would justify the absence of recovery.
The Commission will closely cooperate with Bulgaria in order to achieve a full implementation of its decision, and calls on Bulgaria to use all means to achieve an effective and immediate recovery.