Revision of the Commission's notice on the enforcement of State aid rules by national courts

ClientEarth welcomes the consultation on the notice on the enforcement of State aid rules by national courts (the Notice). This gives the opportunity to revise the Notice in light of recent legal developments and practical findings on the (lack of) effectiveness of private enforcement actions before national courts.

Our main recommendations:

• Admissibility of actions by NGOs and members of the public alleging that an aid measure breaches environmental law, shall be explicitly recommended to Member States
• The Notice should explain the role of national courts in respect of assessing breaches of environmental law by aid beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the Notice must clarify that this check must primarily be performed by the Commission since assessing compatibility of aid measure with the internal market (of which environmental compliance is part) lies within its competence
• Private enforcement will hardly take off without increased transparency about the granting of aid