state aid

The European Commission has opened “an in-depth investigation” into whether public measures in favour of mining company Iberpotash gave it a selective advantage over its competitors, in breach of EU State aid rules. “The Spanish authorities fully financed EUR 7.9 million of costs to physically cover one of Iberpotash's waste heaps and reduce pollution” stated the EC’s press release. If confirmed, this would entail a breach in the 'polluter pays' principle since a public authority would have been bearing the clean-up costs rather than the company responsible for the pollution. Iberpotash already has a European infraction procedure against it, which has been pending since 2014.

The European Commission has warned Spain that 6 Autonomous Communities, including Catalonia, should cancel their tax on large-sized shopping centres because it may represent indirect State aid benefiting smaller shops and therefore damaging free competition. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, announced legal actions to defend this tax, which was validated by the Constitutional Court. Catalonia’s shopping model has a great presence of small and local shops, mostly run by families with a small number of employees. In order to protect this model and make it compatible with new shopping malls and large-sized international shops, in 2000 the Catalan Parliament created a tax on shops larger than 2,500 square metres. Currently, it is set at €17 per year per square metre. The revenue collected is devoted to actions promoting local retail.

The Irish low-cost company issued a statement in reply to the European Commission’s investigation into the marketing agreement between Ryanair and the Catalan airports of Girona-Costa Brava and Reus (near the Costa Daurada). A competitor of Ryanair at Barcelona El Prat Airport had filed a complaint in Brussels accusing the Irish airline of profiting from public grants that were violating EU competition regulations. On Wednesday, the European Commission announced the launch of an investigation, which “does not prejudge the outcome”. In its statement, Ryanair pointed out that the European Court of Justice has already issued a judgement in 2008 stating that marketing agreements with airports are not state aid.