TOURISM AND STATE AID 121 In its judgment, the Court of first emphasised that, as a general rule, State aid can only be granted after notified under Article 108(3) TFEU and cleared by the European Commission. This is the basis of State aid control and a fundamental principle when interpreting State aid law. The Commission can adopt block exemptions and define specific categories of aid, which can be granted without notification, if certain conditions are met. Moreover, the notification obligation has to be interpreted strictly when Member States grant aid under the GBER. Then, the Court of Justice concluded that as the Austrian law does not comply with some of the general requirements of the GBER (e.g. reference to the number and promulgation of the GBER), there is no need to assess whether it is in line with its material requirements. The judgment is clear about the strict interpretation of the GBER by requiring to comply with all GBER conditions when applying it. Regardless, whether the condition prescribed in the GBER is a formalistic or a material one, this is the precondition to exempt from the aid from the ex-ante notification to the European Commission. The Court also highlighted that this interpretation was also underpinned both by the aim of the GBER and its textual context. The judgment’s relevance is shown by the fact that all further judgments of the Court of Justice related to the interpretation of the GBER41 refer back to it and to the statements expressed in it. 3.3. The judgments in the Comitato “Venezia vuole vivere” cases In the mid-90s, Italy has given relief from social security contributions in the Mezzogiorno region. The Commission declared this aid to be compatible with the common market, with some conditions and required Italy to phase out the measure in the longer term. Later, Italy modified the conditions of the scheme and extended it to Venice and Chioggia to create new jobs. The Commission started an investigation regarding these changes and concluded that they were compatible with the common market, only if granted for small and medium sized enterprises, in underdeveloped regions, or for employers hiring groups of workers experiencing particular difficulties entering or re-entering the labour market. Aid granted under the scheme outside these situations were mainly considered as incompatible and the Commission ordered Italy to recover it with interest from the beneficiaries. 41 See also the Eesti Pagar and BMW judgment referred to in footnote 8.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==