Download or read book State aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy EEAG written by Catherine Banet and published by Centre on Regulation in Europe asbl (CERRE). This book was released on 2020-09-22 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe’s energy State aid guidelines no longer reflect the market reality and need to be carefully revised. This study looks at the existing rules and provides recommendations for the revised guidelines to effectively contribute to accelerating the decarbonisation of Europe’s economy. It calls on the European Commission to pursue a combined approach that looks at reinforcing both common objectives and specific State aid measures. Since the approval of the latest Guidelines for State Aid for Energy and Environmental Protection (EEAG) in 2014, the EU institutions have agreed to accelerate the decarbonisation process to reach a climate-neutral economy by 2050. This strong impetus heavily influences the energy market where we see new economic models and types of actors emerging, and where there has been significant technological progress over the past years. The energy and environmental protection State aid guidelines no longer reflect the market’s reality and need to be revised carefully. As Brussels is about to kick off the revision of the EEAG, this report provides recommendations for new rules that effectively contribute to fast-tracking the transition towards low carbon energy systems in a cost-efficient way. Above all, Brussels should align the new rules with its 2030 climate and energy transition targets. “The EEAG reform should combine approaches that look both at common objectives and specific aid measures. This requires a significant evolution of the current regime whilst ensuring smooth continuity. Defining clear criteria to assess the contribution of a specific State aid measure to the ‘common interest’ is of utmost importance. The revised EEAG should strengthen these assessment criteria, including for specific aid measures. They must promote technology neutrality and consider the energy system’s resilience. Among the assessment criteria, the application of the proportionality test should be improved.” - Catherine Banet, author of the report The Guidelines are part of a bigger ecosystem of rules. The EEAG work in close interaction with the general block exemption Regulation (GBER) which allows the Commission to exempt prior State aid notification – and approval – in specific cases. This has proven to be efficient and should be maintained. If, during the review, a different approach is chosen, it may impact the entire architecture of the hard and soft law ecosystem of the EU state aid regime. The Clean Energy Package for All Europeans is a driver of the reflection behind the revision of the Guidelines. The scope of application of the EEAG should reflect and build upon the provisions laid down in this package. At the same time, the new Guidelines have the challenging task of anticipating the impacts of moving climate targets from the European Green Deal and the upcoming rules to achieve them, such as the revised renewable energy directive, the revised alternative fuels infrastructure directive, the implementation of the sector integration strategy and the Hydrogen strategy. Finally, enforcing the rules is just as important as setting the right rules. The report notes that, on several occasions in its recent case law, the Court of Justice of the EU has reversed some of the European Commission’s approval decisions, with major impacts on markets. The revised Guidelines should be set and applied so as to eliminate the risk of reversals of the Commission’s decisions as much as possible. “The COVID-19 crisis is just one example of the deep uncertainties and changes our society is going through. Europe should be prepared for more disruption. We need to build a more resilient energy system that can cope with such unexpected external shocks. The energy state aid Guidelines should be an integral part of a long term sustainable recovery roadmap.” - Catherine Banet, author of the report.

Download or read book Retrospective Evaluation Support Study on State Aid Rules for Environmental Protection and Energy written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report provides input for the evaluation of the State aid rules related to environmental protection and energy, with a particular focus on the EU Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy (EEAG) applicable in 2014-2020 and on the provisions applicable to aid for environmental protection and energy (Section 7) of Commission Regulation (EU) 651/2014 (GBER). The overall objective of the report is to provide background information for the review of these provisions. The topics covered in the report are related to the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the State aid rules.

Download or read book Sustainable State Aid written by Anja Wiesbrock and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This chapter argues that the mandatory nature of the environmental integration principle has important procedural and substantive implications for the area of State aid law and policy. The requirement to integrate environmental protection requirements into all stages of state aid law and policies warrants a reconsideration of the strict effects-based approach in the analysis of environmental aid. Moreover, Article 11 TFEU obliges the European Commission to design its exemption policies in a way that promotes sustainable development and guarantees a high level of environmental protection. The current approach in the Guidelines on Environmental and Energy State Aid (EEAG) does not seem to provide adequate mechanisms for integrating environmental concerns into state aid policy when the objective of a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment is taken as a benchmark. The chapter concludes by way of illustrating the significant implications of Article 11 TFEU for the nature of environmental aid granted as well as the division of supervisory powers between the Commission and the Member States.

Download or read book EEAG Revision Support Study written by and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report supports the European Commission's revision of the EEAG and section 7 of the GBER. It consists of 3 study items that address distinct questions: Study Item 1: The measurement of cost-effectiveness (EUR per tonne of CO2 avoided) allows for the assessment of relative decarbonisation benefits of policies, but may not always capture their overall environmental impact. Wind, solar and energy efficiency have similar cost-effectiveness, while cogeneration of heat and power is less cost-effective. Fo cusing on decarbonisation objectives only, multi-technology auctions improve cost-effec tiveness by prioritising less costly technologies. If potential inframarginal rents and dy namic effects are also considered, then technology-specific auctions may exhibit lower carbon mitigation costs in some cases. Study Item 2: Research on operating and investment aid is reviewed, with the finding that for environmentally friendly energy aid, some distortions have arisen from the nature of aid, but that both investment and especially operating aid can yield positive outcomes. Analysis of four actual schemes with operating or investment aid suggests that precise scheme design matters for success and often evolves with time. Three aid schemes are examined for industrial decarbonisation. Aid levels of 40% for fixed aid intensity are deemed unlikely, if the maximum aid intensities remain unchanged, to provide sufficient support for several industrial decarbonisation routes. Study Item 3: Empirical studies support the relevance of electro-intensity and trade in tensity for eligibility of energy-intensive users for levy exemptions in the EEAG. The anal ysis of levies from 2011 to 2018 highlights their large heterogeneity across sectors, coun tries and over time. Scenarios harmonising levies to the highest levy and abolishing ex emptions lead to a substantial decrease in profits. A limited profit decrease is predicted when levies change by a percentage value, an absolute level or are partially harmonised to a threshold.

Download or read book EU State Aid Law written by Pier Luigi Parcu and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The recent State Aid Modernization has decentralized the enforcement of State aid law. In particular, under the General Block Exemption Regulation a number of aid schemes do not require the preventive “check” by the European Commission, while national courts play a growing role in private enforcement of State aid law. This insightful book analyzes the enforcement of State aid law in the aftermath of the State Aid Modernization, identifying a number of emerging trends at the national and EU level.

Download or read book Comparative Renewables Policy written by Elin Lerum Boasson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-29 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging one-eyed technology-focused accounts of renewables policy, this book provides a ground-breaking, deep-diving and genre-crossing longitudinal study of policy development. The book develops a multi-field explanatory approach, capturing inter-relationships between actors often analyzed in isolation. It provides empirically rich and systematically conducted comparative case studies on the political dynamics of the ongoing energy transition in six European countries. While France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom opted for ‘technology-specific’ renewables support mixes, Norway and Sweden embarked on ‘technology-neutral’ support mixes. Differences between the two groups result from variations in domestic political and organizational fields, but developments over time in the European environment also spurred variation. These findings challenge more simplistic and static accounts of Europeanization. This volume will be of key interest to scholars and students of energy transitions, comparative climate politics, policy theory, Europeanization, European integration and comparative European politics more broadly, as well practitioners with an interest in renewable energy and climate transition. The Open Access version of this book, available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429198144, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Download or read book State Aid and the Energy Sector written by Leigh Hancher and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important new work offers a comprehensive and compelling account of State aid law and policy and its application to the energy sector. Clearly structured and offering meticulous detail and robust analysis, it is required reading for all practitioners in the field. The volume explores general questions from the definition of State aid to its application in Member States by national courts. It also examines questions of procedure, questions of compatibility, and State aid and the EEA. It is an invaluable tool for lawyers, policymakers and tax professionals specialising in State aid law and energy law, written by a team of leading practitioners and academics in the field.

Download or read book The European Dimension of Germany s Energy Transition written by Erik Gawel and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the interactions between Germany’s energy transition and the EU’s energy policy framework. It seeks to analyze the manifold connections between the prospects of the proclaimed “Energy Union” and the future of Germany’s energy transition, and identifies relevant lessons for the transformation at the EU level that can be learned from the case of Germany, as a first-mover of transforming energy systems towards renewables. The various repercussions (political, economic and systemic) from the national transition are explored within the EU context as it responds to the German transition, taking into account both existing frictions and potential synergies between predominantly national sustainability policies and the EU’s push towards harmonized policies within a common market. The book’s overall aim is to identify the most critical issues, in order to avoid pitfalls and capitalize on opportunities.

Download or read book EU Environmental and Planning Law Aspects of Large scale Projects written by European Environmental Law Forum. Conference and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governments, companies, environmental associations and citizens all over the European Union (EU) are struggling with large scale projects. On the one hand large scale projects can contribute to economic development, on the other hand they often also raise environmental concerns. Because of their size and potential impact, large scale projects usually lead to heavy debates and quickly become of great symbolic value. Consequently, large scale projects are excellent examples of the difficulty to balance economic development with environmental protection. The types of large scale projects, planned as well as 'under construction' in the EU, are very diverse. One can think of all kinds of infrastructure projects (motorways, railways, waterways, stations, ports, airports, ...), building projects (offices, housing projects, sports stadiums, redevelopment of brownfields, ...), waste projects (incineration, landfill, ...), energy projects (electricity and gas networks, wind farms, biogas installations, heat networks, extraction projects, ...), climate projects (CDM projects, ...), water projects, etc. In order to promote the legal thinking about all kinds of environmental and planning law aspects of large scale projects, Hasselt University and KU Leuven, Campus Brussels jointly hosted from 10 to 12 September 2014 the second European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) Conference, with as central topic Environmental and Planning Law Aspects of Large Scale Projects". The conference focused more specifically on the following aspects: -The role of spatial and environmental planning -Permitting and review procedures -Critical sectoral regimes -Horizontal measures. This book offers a selection of the contributions presented at the EELF Conference. They have all been submitted to two double-blind peer reviews. The book is subdivided into six main themes: 1. General 2. Public participation 3. Environmental impact assessment 4. Water 5. Nature 6. Land use."

Download or read book EU State Aids written by Leigh Hancher and published by Sweet & Maxwell. This book was released on 2012 with total page 1283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An invaluable resource to all those involved in advising or litigating matters of state aid, from lawmakers to regulators, lawyers, economists and courts. This fully revised 4th edition presents detailed practical guidance to the law and practice in the European Union as it stands today, together with the relevant primary law materials

Download or read book Renewable Energy Communities and the Low Carbon Energy Transition in Europe written by Frans H. J. M. Coenen and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-03 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume addresses renewable energy communities, and in particular renewable energy cooperatives (REScoops), in the context of the revised EU Renewables Directive. It provides a comprehensive account of the history and development of the renewable energy community movement in over six different countries of continental Europe. It addresses their visions, strategy, organisation, agency, and more particularly the challenges they encounter. This is of particular importance to gain more understanding into how renewable energy communities fare in domestic energy markets where they are confronted with regime institutions, structures and incumbents’ agency that tend to favour maintaining of the status quo while blocking attempts to empower and institutionalise renewable energy communities as market entrants having a disruptive, radical green and localist agenda. This volume will be an invaluable reference for academics and practitioners with an interest in social innovation in sustainable transitions, the role of community energy in energy markets, their agency, as well as an outlook to the impact that the EU Renewables Directive may have to change national legislation and policy frameworks to create a level playing field that is essentially more fair and beneficial to renewable energy communities.

Download or read book The Modernisation of State Aid for Economic and Social Development written by Bruno Nascimbene and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-28 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the recent modernisation of EU State aid law from various perspectives, and considers both substantive and procedural aspects. It also discusses the reasons for, and the goals and future implications of the modernisation programme, including the evolution of the concept of State aid. The ambitious reform programme was launched in 2012 and has now been almost fully implemented by virtue of the adoption of new rules of procedure in July 2013, and exemption in June 2014. The book highlights the main aspects of this sector reform, which include the Commission’s change of attitude towards so-called positive aid, i.e. those able to promote economic growth, and the intention to focus on matters of greater systematic extent. These objectives also imply a third aspect: increasing the intensity of the control powers conferred on the Commission with regard to that aid that prove to be harmful to competition and the internal market. The book also examines the greater responsibility given to States for self-assessment of their economic policy measures, and explores the resulting impact on, and challenges posed to the administrations of the Member States. The book’s second part is devoted to the application State aid rules in the area of services of general economic interest, with a special focus on aid in the field of social health and infrastructure.

Download or read book Capacity Mechanisms in the EU Energy Market written by Leigh Hancher and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-24 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ensuring an adequate, long-term energy supply is a paramount concern in Europe. EU member states now intervene by encouraging investment in generation capacity, offering an additional revenue stream for conventional power plants in addition to the existing, heavily subsidised investments in renewable energy sources. These capacity remuneration mechanisms (or simply capacity mechanisms) have become a hot topic in the wider European regulatory debate. European electricity markets are increasingly interconnected, so the introduction of a capacity mechanism in one country not only distorts its national market but may have unforeseeable consequences for neighbouring electricity markets. If these mechanisms are adopted by several member states with no supra-national coordination and no consideration for their cross-border impact, they may cause serious market distortions and put the future of the European internal electricity market at risk. This book provides readers with an in-depth analysis of capacity mechanisms, written by an expert team of policy-makers, economists, and legal professionals. It will be a first point of reference for regulators and policy-makers responsible for designing optimal capacity mechanisms in Europe, and will be an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners in the fields of energy, regulation, and competition.

Download or read book Capacity Mechanisms in the EU Energy Markets written by Leigh Hancher and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-13 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Capacity remuneration mechanisms (or simply capacity mechanisms) have become a fact of life in member states' energy markets and are one of the hottest topics in the wider European regulatory debate. Concerned about the security of electricity supply, national governments are implementing subsidy schemes to encourage investment in conventional power generation capacity, alongside already heavily subsidized renewable energy sources. With the increasingly connected European electricity markets, the introduction of a capacity mechanism in one country not only tends to distort its national market but may also have unforeseeable consequences for neighbouring electricity markets. As these mechanisms are adopted by member states with limited supra-national coordination as well as consideration for the cross-border impact, they tend to cause serious market distortions and put the future of the European internal electricity market at risk. This second edition will take stock of how capacity mechanisms have actually worked so far and consider the consequences they have for the European internal electricity market. It will include a detailed overview of national capacity mechanisms, their implications for the EU internal market, and will outline the nature of market failures which are likely to occur in the European electricity markets. This edition is intended to serve as a point of reference for regulators and policy-makers on how to design optimal capacity mechanisms in Europe. It will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in energy market design, regulation, and competition issues.

Download or read book The Evolving Governance of EU Competition Law in a Time of Disruptions written by Carlo Maria Colombo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-02-08 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book develops a timely analysis of the complex trends and transformations emerging in EU competition law in the current turbulent times. Repeated economic crises, the climate emergency, digitalisation, and geopolitical and democratic threats are all having profound societal and economic effects on the EU. In light of its fundamental role in the Treaties, EU competition law has been called upon to play an important role in responding to this state of 'turbulence'. This brings about significant governance and constitutional challenges, firstly by questioning how the governance of EU competition law is being transformed to respond and adapt. Secondly, these crisis-induced transformations probe the logic and constitutional limits of EU competition law within the framework of EU law. This collection brings together EU institutional and competition lawyers to reflect on the governance and constitutional challenges emerging from the post-modernisation evolution of EU competition law against the backdrop of the recent multiple crises in the EU. The essays focus on the substantive and procedural developments across the three main policy areas of EU competition law: antitrust, merger control and State aid. EU constitutional and competition lawyers will be interested in this important new collection.

Download or read book The Greening of European Business under EU Law written by Beate Sjåfjell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-13 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relationship between environmentally sustainable development and company and business law has emerged in recent years as a matter of major concern for many scholars, policy-makers, businesses and nongovernmental organisations. This book offers a conceptual analysis of the principles of sustainable development and environmental integration in the EU legal system. It particularly focuses on Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states that EU activities must integrate environmental protection requirements and emphasise the promotion of sustainable development. The book gives an overview of the role played by the environmental integration principle in EU law, both at the level of European legislation and at the level of Member State practice. Contributors to the volume identify and analyse the main legal issues related to the importance of Article 11 TFEU in various policy areas of EU law affecting European businesses, such as company law, insurance and state aid. In drawing together these strands the book sets out the requirements of environmental integration and examines its impact on the regulation of business in the EU. The book will be of great use and interest to students and researchers of business law, environment law, and EU law.

Download or read book Capacity Mechanisms in EU Energy Law written by Kaisa Huhta and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2019-07-17 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many states – including European Union (EU) Member States – subsidise energy producers in order to guarantee the uninterrupted availability of affordable electricity. This book presents the first in-depth examination of how these so-called capacity mechanisms are addressed in EU law and how they affect the functioning of the EU energy markets. Focusing on the existing legal framework as well as the new provisions of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package for capacity mechanisms, the author addresses and analyses such aspects as the following: the structure and functioning of the EU electricity markets; EU’s competence to address security of supply and Member States’ margin of discretion; sector-specific rules for security of supply; legal conditions for subsidising generation adequacy; capacity remuneration under the EU State aid regime; free movement rules that address generation adequacy measures; balancing different interests of EU energy law in the context of generation adequacy; and the requirement of proportionality in State intervention to ensure generation adequacy. The analysis draws on relevant sources of EU law (treaties, regulations and directives) as well as the case law of the European Court of Justice and the General Court, together with soft law instruments such as Commission guidelines. Scholarly sources include not only legal literature but also work on energy policy, energy engineering and energy economics. As a detailed analysis of how capacity mechanisms address issues arising in the context of the enegy transition – and how the system of EU law applicable to capacity mechanisms should be interpreted to further the objectives of EU energy law – the book will help policymakers and legislators in Member States to understand the changing legal setting for capacity mechanisms. Lawyers, academics and other professionals who deal with EU electricity markets in the EU and beyond are sure to welcome its detailed description and analysis.