The Belgian Civil Supreme Court finds that alterations to an existing State aid scheme are modifications of the system itself to constitute an aid and for the scheme to be notifiable to the EU Commission (Belgacom)

Factual background In the decision of the Court of Appeal of Brussels of 16 March 2005, it was held that the Belgian State was not wrong to allow Belgacom, the incumbent Belgian telecommunication company to benefit from a tax exemption pursuant to a provision in a law of 1930 and included in the Belgian Tax Code. Under this provision, housing used for non-profit activities can benefit from the tax exemption. In the appeal, the city of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode claimed that the Belgian State did commit an error in failing to notify not notifying the disputed provision to the European Commission on the grounds that it allegedly constituted “new aid”. The Court of appeal did not find sufficient proof that the Belgian State