Press Release: State aid: Commission orders France to recover €1.37 billion in incompatible aid from EDF

On 22 July 2015, the European Commission decided that Électricité de France (EDF), the main electricity provider in France, had been granted tax breaks incompatible with EU rules on State aid.

A 1997 tax exemption conferred on EDF an undue economic advantage compared with other operators on the market and so distorted competition. In order to remedy this distortion, EDF must repay that aid. The Commission reopened its investigation in 2013 following annulment of an earlier decision by the EU Court of Justice.

• Primary Source

RFI, 22.07.15: EU orders France's EDF to pay back 1997 tax break http://www.english.rfi.fr/economy/20150722-eu-orders-frances-edf-pay-back-1997-tax-break

ESO: Background information: State aid: Commission reopens inquiry into the tax aid awarded to EDF following Court judgment http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-state-aid-commission-reopens-inquiry-into-the-tax-aid-awarded-to-edf-following-court-judgment/

EurActiv, 23.07.15: Brussels orders EDF to return €1.37 billion in state aid http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/brussels-orders-edf-return-eu137-billion-state-aid-316527

Politico, 22.07.15: EU demands return of EDF tax break http://www.politico.eu/article/eu-demands-return-of-edf-tax-break-competition-vestager-france/

The Wall Street Journal, 22.07.15: EU Orders France to Recover State Aid From EDF http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-orders-france-to-recover-state-aid-from-edf-1437559208

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