The EU General Court rules that non-notified state aid cannot be declared compatible retroactively (Greece / Commission)

A Textbook Case of False Arguments: T-150/12, Greece v Commission* Main points Recipients of State aid obtain an advantage even if they do not succeed to improve their position on the market Recipients of State aid obtain an advantage whenever their competitors in intra-EU trade do not receive the same aid from the same source Even small amounts of aid can disturb intra-EU trade where there is strong cross-border competition The European Commission is not required to quantify the aid that must be recovered. Incompatible State aid cannot be declared compatible retroactively Introduction In 2008 Greece adopted several measures to help cereal producers to obtain loans from financial institutions. These measures provided subsidies that covered the full rate of interest. In addition, Greece