Ruling upholds the EU General Court’s 2023 decision
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed an appeal by the Netherlands in a state aid case concerning the extension of monopoly licences to incumbent betting and lottery operators in 2014.
EGBA welcomes the ruling, which upholds the EU General Court’s 2023 decision that the European Commission had failed to properly investigate whether the Netherlands granted unlawful state aid to incumbent operators by extending their monopoly licences without an open tender process.
In 2014, the Netherlands extended several monopoly licences to incumbent betting and lottery operators without an open, competitive tender process. EGBA filed a complaint to the European Commission in 2016, arguing the lack of an open tender process violated EU state aid rules.
In 2020, the Commission decided to close EGBA’s complaint without opening a formal investigation, claiming no state aid was involved. EGBA appealed the Commission’s decision to the CJEU in 2021.
In 2023, the EU General Court ruled (Case T-167/21) in EGBA’s favour, annulling the Commission’s decision and finding it had failed to properly investigate the case. The Netherlands appealed that 2023 ruling. Today’s judgment (Case C-59/24 P) dismisses that appeal entirely.
The Court confirmed that when investigating state aid complaints, the Commission must examine all relevant aspects of a measure and cannot take shortcuts in its analysis. The Court was not asked, and has not determined, whether unlawful state aid actually occurred, but rather its ruling focused on the Commission’s failure to properly investigate whether the licence extension procedure constituted state aid.
“We welcome the Court’s ruling. This is a clear victory for the proper enforcement of EU law. The Court has confirmed what we said all along: the Commission must investigate state aid complaints thoroughly and cannot take shortcuts. While this case dates back to 2014, it remains relevant today. It demonstrates that the Commission must fulfil its responsibilities as guardian of the Treaties – and that there are consequences when it fails to do so,” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA.
Mr Haijer added: “When issuing any type of gambling licence, Member States must always ensure there is a fair, open and competitive process that treats all interested applicants equally, in line with EU law. The Commission is expected to now open a state aid investigation to determine whether the extension of monopoly licences by the Dutch authorities in 2014 involved unlawful state aid.”
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Ruling upholds the EU General Court’s 2023 decision The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed an appeal by the Netherlands in a state aid case concerning the extension of monopoly licences to incumbent betting and lottery operators in 2014. EGBA welcomes the ruling, which upholds the EU General Court’s 2023 decision…
The post EU Court dismisses Dutch appeal in state aid case and rules in EGBA’s favour appeared first on G3 Newswire.