State aids and tax rulings

This talk focuses on the Commission recent decisions requiring certain EU Member States to recover aids totaling 13 billion euros allegedly granted to multinationals such as Ikea, Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, and FIAT through tax rulings, i.e. binding decisions determining the application of national tax rules to specific cases. The talk examines these decisions in accordance with the constituent elements of the notion of State aids and looks at the main counterarguments raised by the Member States concerned, by the beneficiary undertakings, and by legal scholars. Finally, regard is had to the impact of the outcome of the current appeals before the CJEU on the establishment of a fiscal union