EU State Aid and Foreign Subsidies
Our advisors will provide you with broad-based advice on all issues relating to EU State aid law and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).
We advise both private and public companies from a wide range of industries and the public sector on developing and implementing funding measures in compliance with State aid law. The topics we cover include privatisation and de-privatisation, research and development, digitalisation, rescue and restructuring measures, energy supplies, the EU Green Deal and decarbonisation. We also help submit State aid notifications to the European Commission, file complaints under State aid law and conduct court proceedings. On this basis, we assist our clients in shaping their business of the future across the entire transformation chain.
We also advise companies on issues arising under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), particularly in connection with transactions. In fact, our lawyers closely followed the legislative process leading to the enactment of the FSR. We draw on invaluable insights into EU State aid and merger control gained by us over the years. This gives us the edge when it comes to advising on complex FSR issues and makes us pioneers in this field.
Our EU State aid advisors work closely with Noerr’s other practice areas, especially on matters related to corporate, public, energy, insolvency and subsidies law. Our team has the necessary depth and breadth to handle even highly demanding, complex and interdisciplinary projects.
Our clients benefit from our many years of experience in resolving complex State aid and subsidy law questions and representing them in proceedings before the European Commission, European courts and national authorities and courts. We are very familiar with the relevant players and institutions and also contribute our knowledge of various aspects of State aid and subsidy law in the context of legislative proposals. This means that we are involved in new developments right from the start and always have our finger on the pulse of the future.
Our services
Representing clients in proceedings before the European Commission
- Submitting notifications to the European Commission and negotiating aid schemes or individual aid
- Amending existing aid
- Defending clients against complaints by competitors
- Handling complaints against unlawful aid
Representing clients before national and EU courts
- Seeking legal redress for clients against negative decisions of the European Commission
- Initiating legal proceedings before EU courts and defending clients against lawsuits by competitors
- Filing lawsuits before national courts and representing clients whose competitors have (unjustly) received State aid
- Advising and defending clients with regard to claims for recovery of aid
State aid law compliance
Designing measures that comply with State aid law through:
- Risk analysis: reviewing whether State aid has been granted and can be approved
- Aid strategy: designing customised and forward-looking solutions
- Implementation: ensuring that measures are implemented in compliance with State aid law
Transactions that comply with State aid law
- Tender and bidding processes
- Equity and debt investments, State guarantees
- Risk management in the context of due diligence and contract drafting
Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)
- Reviewing whether the obligation to submit a notification of a transaction or a tender exists
- Providing extensive advice on the contractual arrangement of transactions
- Developing a forward-looking strategy by drawing on our many years of experience in EU State aid law and merger control as well as our connections at the European Commission
- Handling notification and complaint procedures at the European Commission
- Advising and representing clients in ex officio proceedings by the European Commission
Selected projects
- Federal Republic of Germany - Finance Agency
Advising the Finance Agency on a stabilisation package for TUI AG - Condor
Advising the airline on State aid in connection with its successful restructuring, which included several State aid notification procedures (2019 to 2021) at the European Commission and several proceedings before the General Court of the European Union - J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC.
Providing the investment firm with State aid law advice on structuring and implementing the acquisition of shares in HSH Nordbank AG - Hamburg Investment and Development Bank
Advising the bank on setting up the “Hamburg Stabilisation Fund” - Major non-European fund
Advising on the possible treatment of tax rebates under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation - WDR
Advising the public broadcasting institution on the structuring of land and real estate transactions in compliance with State aid law, focusing on the structuring of tender procedures - Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Advising the Ministry on reorganising funding for nuclear waste disposal to include producers of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste - Steag financiers
Advising on State aid issues in connection with the spin-off and planned sale of the company - Daimler
Advising the German automotive company on the notification regarding regional aid to the European Commission in connection with constructing new production sites and expanding existing sites in Hungary, Poland and Romania - H2 Mobility
Advising the operator of hydrogen fuelling stations on State aid, merger control, antitrust and energy law in connection with the development of the refuelling infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles in Germany as joint advisor to a consortium (Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell and Total) - Northvolt
State aid law advice on the state financing of the construction of a battery cell factory for electric vehicles with a total investment volume of EUR 4.5 billion - Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Advising on the introduction of the German federal government’s planned electricity price cap as well as on the gas price cap. The advice included supporting the ministry in the contract negotiations with the transmission system operators for the implementation of the StromPBG with a value of several billion EUR.
Share
“The Noerr State aid team is very well-positioned in terms of its expertise and handles almost all of our State aid matters. We feel we are in very good hands. The team members can be consulted at all times.”
Client, Legal 500, 2022/2023FSR-Checker
Is a notification under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation ("FSR") required for your M&A transaction?
The FSR, which entered into force on 12 January 2023, enables the European Commission to investigate third-country subsidies with a view to possible distortions of the EU internal market, including in the context of M&A transactions. Companies are required to notify M&A transactions to the European Commission if certain thresholds are exceeded.
Whether an FSR notification is required depends on various factors which can be a cause of uncertainty for companies. However, an FSR notification obligation can often be clarified by answering just a few questions. With our FSR-Checker, you can check easily and free of charge whether your M&A transaction requires a notification under the FSR.
Disclaimer:
Please note that the FSR-Checker had to be simplified to a certain extent due to the complex legal situation so that it remains manageable. The legal considerations illustrated in our FSR-Checker therefore serve merely as an initial abstract and non-binding assessment and do not replace a concrete examination in individual cases. They relate to the content of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation and do not take into account any other relevant standards.
We are continuously developing the FSR-Checker to improve its accuracy and user-friendliness. This web application is a free and non-binding offer for information purposes on an abstract basis only. It does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship in connection with the use of the web application.
A binding statement on the applicability of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation requires the conclusion of an agreement with us and a case-by-case assessment by us.
You can find out which personal data is processed in connection with the FSR-Checker in our data protection information.
Insights
“The team has excellent expertise, responds very quickly to enquiries and is always up to date on the progress of proceedings and the next steps. New information is summarised and communicated immediately, clearly and precisely. The lawyers are always accessible, and I feel like a VIP client.”
Client, Legal 500, 2024 Well
informed
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