On Thursday 12 July, the General Court confirmed the decision by which the Commission approved the aid provided by the UK in favour of an EDF subsidiary that is due to begin operating the new generation EPR Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in 2023 (Case T-356/15) (see EUROPE 11172).
Opposed by Austria but supported by Luxembourg, this aid is made up of three parts: a contract ensuring price stability for sales of electricity and to guarantee compensation in the event of an early shutdown; an agreement between the investors of the EDF Energy subsidiary and the UK’ authorities, which guarantees compensation in the event of an early shutdown on political grounds; a credit guarantee by the UK on bonds to be issued by the operator of up to a maximum level of £17 billion.
By its judgment, the General Court dismisses all action brought by Austria.
According to the General Court the United Kingdom was entitled to define the development of nuclear energy as being a public-interest objective, even though that objective is not shared by all of the Member States.
The General Court also finds that neither the rules on state aid nor the Euratom Treaty require that the existence of technological innovation be established.
According to the General Court, the Commission acted correctly in law in concluding that, given the lack of market-based financial instruments that could hedge against the risks to which investments in nuclear energy are subject, State intervention was necessary and proportionate.
With regard to the characterisation of the measures at issue, the General Court notes that that there is nothing to preclude an aid measure which pursues a public interest objective, which is appropriate to and necessary for the attainment of that objective and which does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest, from being declared compatible with the internal market, irrespective of whether it must be characterised as investment aid or as operating aid.
Finally, the General Court rejects the argument that the UK ought to have launched a tendering procedure for the Hinkley Point C project.
In response to the Gen Court judgement, Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France) call for the Euratom Treaty to be reformed and said that it was, “a relic that unjustifiably favoured nuclear power and constituted a barrier to innovation” in the clean energy field. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)