The EU Commission approves € 47.3 million operating aid in favour of a Dutch public company operating in the hazardous waste treatment sector (AVR)

"State aid for hazardous waste treatment: the case of AVR, the Netherlands"* On 22 June 2005, the European Commission has approved € 47.3 million operating aid in favour of AVR of the Netherlands for hazardous waste disposal. € 2.4 million — compensation for the cost of acquisition of the hazardous waste — was not approved and has to be recovered from the beneficiary. The interesting features of the case lay in the application of Article 86(2) of the Treaty, concerning services of general economic interest, in the field of waste management and environmental protection. This article explains in further detail the underlying principles the Commission applied in its assessment. The beneficiary and the measures AVR (Rotterdam) is a waste management company owned by the municipality of