Contribution de l’APDC à la consultation publique lancée par la Commission européenne sur le projet de communication de la Commission relative à la notion d’aide d’Etat au sens de l’article 107, paragraphe 1, du TFUE
- The present reply was drafted by a working group of the APDC, composed of the following members of the Association: Olivier Billard (Bredin Prat); Marta Giner (Norton Rose Fulbright); Adrien Giraud (Willkie Farr & Gallagher); François-Charles Laprévôte (Cleary Gottlieb); Florent Prunet (Jeantet et Associés); Léna Sersiron (Baker McKenzie); Nicolas Zacharie (Linklaters).
The members of the working group would like to thank the following persons for their collaboration in the drafting of the reply: Dounia Ababou; Geoffroy Barthet; Yohann Chevalier; Dylan Damaj; Maxime de l’Estang; Guillaume Fabre; Claire Froitzheim; Clémence Hardy; Tien Hua; Maia Spy. - 2 –
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
2 Notion of undertaking and economic activity ………………………………………………………….. 7
2.1 The Notion of Economic Unit …………………………………………………………………………. 7
2.2 Ancillary activities ………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
2.3 Development Banks ………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
2.4 Social Security………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.5 Infrastructures……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
3 State Origin ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
3.1 Imputability ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
3.1.1 Indicators for imputability ………………………………………………………………………. 11
3.1.2 Imputability and obligations under Union law …………………………………………… 13
3.2 State resources …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.2.1 General principles ………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.2.2 Controlling influence over the resources …………………………………………………… 14
3.2.3 State involvement in redistribution between private entities ………………………… 16
4 Advantage ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
4.1 The notion of advantage in general ………………………………………………………………… 17
4.2 The market economy operator (MEO) test ……………………………………………………… 20
4.2.1 General principles ………………………………………………………………………………….. 20
4.2.2 Application of the MEO test ……………………………………………………………………. 24
5 Selectivity ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32
5.1 General principles ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
5.2 Material selectivity ………………………………………………………………………………………. 32
5.2.2 Selectivity stemming from discretionary administrative practices ………………… 32
5.2.3 The assessment of material selectivity for measures mitigating the normal charges of undertakings ………………………………………………………………………….. 33
6 Effect on trade and competition …………………………………………………………………………… 34
6.1 General principles ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
6.2 Distortion of competition ……………………………………………………………………………… 35
6.3 Effect on trade …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
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