The EU Court of Justice preliminarily determines that a Lithuanian aid scheme for the provision of public interest services in the electricity sector breaches State aid rules (Achema / Orlen Lietuva / Lifosa / VKEKK)

The judgment of the Court of 15 May 2019 in case C-706/17, delivered upon a request for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (“Achema”) [1], replicates the analysis which was previously established in Association Vent de Colère! [2]. The judgment in Achema thus follows the settled case-law of the Union judicature regarding Sate aid measures intended to compensate providers of public interest services in the electricity sector, based on renewable energy sources. By its questions, the referring court essentially asked whether certain aspects of the Lithuanian scheme for the provision of public interest services in the electricity sector and of its financing scheme must be considered to amount to a State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. This is