Κατεύθυνση Άυλα Αγαθά και Ανταγωνισμός
Library of the School of Law

2018-03-08

2018

Salvanou Tsekoura Ifigeneia

Εμμανουήλ Μαστρομανώλης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Νομική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γαρυφαλιά Αθανασίου,Καθηγήτρια, Νομική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Αλεξάνδρα Μικρουλέα, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Νομική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ

Κρατικές Ενισχύσεις στον Τομέα της Ενέργειας

Greek

State Aid in the Energy Sector

This thesis constitutes part of the LL.M. programme in “Intangible Assets and Competition Law’’, taught at the Department of Law of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. The present is focused on the legal framework of state aid regime and its implications within the energy sector at a European Union level. The importance and complication of the subject matter is highlighted by the role of the European Commission (EC) as the main policy making authority within the European Union (EU). The EU in collaboration with the EC have set specific targets towards the protection of the environment by imposing certain measures to the EU member states aiming to, amongst others, the reduction of the gas emissions, the support of initiatives enhancing the usage and production of alternative and renewable energy sources and finding new means to promote energy efficiency. In order for member states to be in a position to adopt such measures and promote the EU policy by creating a more environmental friendly domestic framework, it is in many instances necessary for these to proceed to actions and take initiatives which might fall within the meaning of state aid. In these circumstances the role of the EC is to assess whether these state aid measures imposed by the member state in question are compatible with the internal common market. The role of the EC within this framework is twofold: i) creating the framework for ensuring the environmental protection and ii) monitoring and assessing the measures adopted by the member states when aiming towards that direction.
A fundamental principle of the internal common market is for the economic undertakings when competing each other shall be in equal terms and any actions by the member states that put one of these undertaking in more favorable terms creates a distortion within the internal common market and might be deemed as unfair competition. The State should also refrain from actions that could distort competition and affect the internal market. Hence, the concept of State Aid falls within the actions by the relevant member state in favor of an undertaking and shall be deemed as distortive for the internal common market and thus prohibited. However, the TFEU in certain cases provides for certain exceptions in relation to a number of policy objectives for which state aid can be considered as compatible with the internal common market.
To this end, the role of the EC is to deal with the anticompetitive behavior aiming to regulate and control the state aid and at the same time to support the liberalization of the market promoting safer and more affordable energy supply which remains beneficial for the environment. Therefore there are instances where state aid can be deemed as beneficial for the energy sector, since is the energy sector is a highly subsidized and sensitive sector. The role of the EC as the supervision authority is of paramount importance and the present thesis examines cases where State Aid can be deemed as compatible with the principles of the internal common market.
In the first part of this thesis, the notion of state aid is described together with its importance as a necessary tool for the active undertakings within the energy sector. The state intervenes directly or indirectly by granting a selective advantage to some undertakings. Under certain circumstances this may be deemed as compatible with the European Union Law. The criteria for assessing whether the measure in question is compatible with the European Union Law stem from the Guidelines on State Aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020 (“Guidelines”). Moreover, it is examined the European energy policy framework presenting the way the energy sector was shaped from the European Coal and Steel Community to date and how the market has progressively been liberalized
The second part of this thesis focuses on cases where state aid is considered as compatible with the internal common market and the support schemes through which the aid is granted to the undertakings. It is important to highlight that aid is granted for various purposes depending on each member state’s policy. For instance aid is granted by a member state in order to secure energy supply, for energy infrastructures, for environmental protection or to support the electricity production from renewable energy sources. The aid can be either investment or operating aid. It receives several forms such as tax exemptions, feed-in tariffs, feed-in premiums or green certificates. Since 2017 a bidding process has also been implemented according to the relevant Guidelines.

Law and Legislation

state aid, notion of aid, article 107 TFEU, energy sector, compatibility assessment, support schemes

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0

Yes

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https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/2688911