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State aid
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21/06/2024
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Commission approves €3 billion German State aid scheme to support the development of Hydrogen Core Network
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an estimated €3 billion German scheme to support the construction of the Hydrogen Core Network (‘HCN'). The measure will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and 'Fit for 55' package, by enabling the creation of hydrogen transmission infrastructure that is needed to foster the use of renewable hydrogen in industry and transport by 2030.
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20/06/2024
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Commission finds special tax rules for public casinos operators in Germany to be incompatible State aid
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The European Commission has concluded that Germany's special tax schemes for public casinos operators are not in line with EU State aid rules. Germany must now recover the incompatible State aid, including interests, and abolish the tax schemes for the future.
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20/06/2024
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Commission opens in-depth State aid investigation into Flemish support to land management associations
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The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether public support granted to Flemish land management associations between 2003 and 2018 is in line with EU State aid rules.
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19/06/2024
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Commission invites comments on draft revised State aid rules for land and multimodal transport
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The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft rules for land and multimodal transport replacing the Guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings (‘Railway Guidelines') as well as on its new Transport Block-Exemption Regulation (‘TBER').
Interested parties can respond to the public consultation until 20 September 2024.
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17/06/2024
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Commission approves €570 million Italian State aid scheme to reduce emissions in ports
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €570 million Italian scheme to incentivise ships to use shore-side electricity when they are at berth in maritime ports. The measure contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and noise in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
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Antitrust
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18/06/2024
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Commission carries out further unannounced antitrust inspections in tyres sector cartel investigation
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The European Commission is carrying out unannounced inspections at the premises of a consultancy firm in two Member States.
The Commission has concerns that the company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).
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Court
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19/06/2024
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Vima World v Commission
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The European Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the General Court, upholding a 2020 Commission Decision. In its decision, the Commission had found that the implementation of the Madeira Free Zone aid scheme (Regime III) in Portugal is not in line with the Commission's State aid decisions of 2007 and 2013 approving the scheme. The objective of the approved measure was to contribute to the economic development of the outermost region of Madeira through tax incentives for companies creating jobs in Madeira and for activities effectively and materially performed in that region.
In its judgment, the General Court upholds the Commission’s finding that the tax reductions were applied to companies that have made no real contribution to the development of the region, including on jobs created outside Madeira (and even the EU), in breach of the conditions laid down in the 2007 and 2013 State aid decisions and EU State aid rules.
This judgment is consistent with the previous findings of the General Court in other appeal cases, especially those brought by Portugal (T-95/21) and the region of Madeira (T-131/21), which were both rejected by the General Court in 2022 and 2023.
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Events
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25/06/2024
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Past and Future of Competition Policy: Challenges ahead
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The seventh episode of Let’s Talk Competition will focus on the past and future of Competition policy. It will be the occasion to look at the work done by the European Commission over the past years, but also to analyse the challenges and pressing issues that the next mandate will have to address.
Lewis Crofts, Editor-at-Large at MLex, will moderate the debate. Three renowned experts will take part in the discussion: Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition; Vanessa Turner, Senior Adviser on Competition at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC); Natalie Harsdorf-Borsch, Director-General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority.
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27/06/2024
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Protecting Competition in a Changing World - Evidence on the evolution of competition in the EU during the past 25 years
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DG Competition is organising a half-day conference that brings together experts and stakeholders to present and discuss new evidence on the evolution of competition in the EU. The main purpose of the conference is to present and discuss the findings from new economic evidence gathered by a consortium of researchers led by Lear and from within DG Competition itself.
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28/06/2024
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Competition in Virtual Worlds and Generative AI
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The European Commission is pleased to announce its upcoming workshop on competition in virtual worlds and generative AI, scheduled for 28 June 2024. This event serves as a follow-up to the call for contributions launched in January 2024, which sought insights into the state of competition within these two sectors.
Registrations are open!
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Public consultations
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27/05/2024 - 24/06/2024
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Commission seeks feedback on the evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation
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The European Commission launched a Call for evidence to seek feedback on the scope and content of its evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, as amended in April 2023 (‘MVBER'), and of the related Supplementary Guidelines, also as amended in April 2023 (‘SGL').
The role of both the MVBER and of the SGL is to assist companies in the automotive sector to assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The feedback obtained will help the Commission prepare a public consultation planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
All interested parties can submit their views in any official EU language until 24 June 2024. More information on the MVBER review can be found here.
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30/05/2024 - 27/06/2024
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EU environmental and State aid law – access to justice in relation to State aid decisions : Call for evidence
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This initiative has two parts: - based on the analysis of supporting evidence, it may outline a new procedure to provide access to justice in environmental matters linked to EU State aid decisions, taking into account the EU’s international environmental commitments
- an update of procedural rules to reflect recent Commission practice and case-law developments related to handling State aid cases.
Please click for more details on the call for evidence for the Communication, as well as the Implementing Regulation.
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07/06/2024 - 21/07/2024
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State aid – review of rules on exemptions for small amounts of aid (de minimis aid) in agriculture
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The Commission is now revising the agricultural de minimis Regulation to react to increasing inflationary pressure in the sector. It is proposing to adjust the de minimis threshold to inflation and to also increase the national caps. It also proposes to improve transparency by introducing a mandatory de minimis register, which will reduce administrative burden on farmers who currently use a self-declaration system.
All citizens, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to this consultation. Contributions are particularly sought from national authorities dealing with measures covered by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (‘agricultural de minimis Regulation’).
See also the Commission's press release.
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18/06/2024 - 20/09/2024
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State aid – draft Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines (LMTG) and draft Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER)
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The Commission is publishing for consultation the draft Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines (LMTG) and Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER).
The proposals follow the conclusions of the Fitness Check on the existing State aid rules in the field of land transport sector that showed that adjustments were needed to reflect market developments and the current EU's strategic priorities, including the European Green Deal.
See also the EC press release.
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Open calls for tender
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18/06/2024 - 02/07/2024
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Call for interest International Competition Network – Non- Governmental Advisors (ICN-NGAs) 2024 - 2025
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The European Commission invites expressions of interest for the International Competition Network - Non-Governmental Advisors (ICN-NGAs) role for the 2024-2025 term
DG Competition seeks to partner with various ICN-NGAs to ensure high-quality contributions based on broad stakeholder experience. Selected ICN-NGAs will actively engage with the European Commission in drafting and revising Working Group outputs, and participating in seminars, webinars, and workshops.
If you are interested in becoming an ICN-NGA and supporting the European Commission, please contact DG Competition at COMP-ICN@ec.europa.eu.
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New legislation
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