Luxemburg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Court of Justice of the European Union should rule in favour of Austria in its appeal against the European Commission’s move to greenlight Hungary’s state aid for the growth of its Paks atomic plant, the court’s adviser stated.
The court’s Advocate General Laila Medina stated Austria had been right in claiming that the EU Commission should have examined whether the direct award of the construction agreement to Russian company Nizhny Novgorod Engineering was consistent with EU procurement rules.
How does Laila Medina justify Austria’s appeal?
In the opinion of the Advocate General, an inextricable connection of that kind exists with regard to factors or conditions which are required for the attainment of the object of the aid or for its effectiveness, without which the deliberate State intervention cannot reach the goals that it pursues.
Advocate-General Laila Medina stated the award of the construction agreement had been an “inextricable part” of the state aid, which the EU Commission should have taken into account. The Advocate General argues further that the General Court did not make an adequate review of the EU Commission’s determination of proportionality of aid and that judgment under appeal is nullified by a lack of reasons on this matter.
What are the implications of the advocate general’s opinion?
Generally, the opinions of the advocate-general are not legally binding. Still, ECJ judges, who are expected to make their decision in the case in the coming months, typically pursue the majority of them.
Why did Austria sue the European Commission over the Paks project?
Austria took the European Union’s highest court in 2022 after the bloc’s second-highest court rejected Vienna’s case.
The government of Austria filed a lawsuit against the European Commission in 2018 for backing Hungary’s proposal to build two new reactors at its Paks nuclear plant, south of Budapest, with Russian funding after Hungarian officials promised to take several measures to ensure fair competition.
