Inextricable link: Court of Justice Annuls Paks II Decision
The Court of Justice (CJEU) has delivered its judgment on case Austria v Commission (Centrale nucléaire Paks II) (C-59/23 P), thereby annulling Commission Decision SA.38454 – 2015/C (ex 2015/N) concerning Hungarian support for the development of two new nuclear reactors at Paks II nuclear power station.
In 2017, the Commission approved Hungary’s state aid to state-owned MVM Paks II for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Paks power station. Austria contested the Commission’s decision, but the General Court dismissed its action.
The CJEU has set aside the judgment of the General Court and annulled the decision of the Commission. The Court has considered that in its assessment of the aid measure the Commission should not have limited the analysis to the compatibility with state aid rules only. The Commission should have ascertained whether the direct award of the contract for the construction of the two new nuclear reactors complies with EU public procurement rules. The construction of the two reactors forms an integral part of the aid measure.
Accordingly, the Court concluded that public procurement rules had to be assessed to assert the compatibility of the aid measure. The direct award of the construction contract was indispensable for the attainment of the objective of that aid and is thus an aspect that is inextricably linked to it.
For more information, see the CJEU’s judgment.