DOBELES HES: Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) 12 January 2023 – Joined Cases No. C-702/20 and C-17/21; ECLI:EU:C:2023:1

Article 107(1) TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that national legislation which obliges the approved electricity distribution undertaking to purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources at a price higher than the market price and which provides that the resulting additional costs are financed by a compulsory surcharge borne by end consumers or which provides that the funds used to finance those additional costs constantly remain under public control constitutes an intervention ‘through State resources’ within the meaning of that provision. Article 107(1) TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that the classification of an advantage as ‘State aid’ within the meaning of that provision is not subject to the condition that the market concerned has first been fully liberalised. Article 107(1) TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that, where national legislation has established ‘State aid’, within the meaning of that provision, the payment of a sum claimed before the courts in accordance with that legislation also constitutes such aid. Article 107(1) TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that, where national legislation establishing a statutory right to a higher payment for electricity generated from renewable energy sources constitutes ‘State aid’, within the meaning of that provision, legal proceedings seeking full entitlement to that right must be regarded as requests for payment of the portion of that State aid not received, and not as requests for the grant by the court seised of a separate State aid. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 [TFEU] to de minimis aid, in particular Article 5(2) thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that compliance with the de minimis threshold laid down in Article 3(2) of that regulation must be assessed in the light of the amount of aid claimed under the relevant national legislation cumulated with the amount of the payments already received during the reference period under that legislation. Article 1(b) and (c) of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 [TFEU] must be interpreted as meaning that, where State aid does not correspond to any of the categories of existing aid provided for in Article 1(b) of that regulation, that aid, including the portion thereof whose payment is subsequently claimed, must be classified as ‘new aid’ within the meaning of Article 1(c) of that regu