IV. Commentary on the Community Guidelines on State Aid to Maritime Transport and Regulation 3094/95 on Aid to Shipbuilding

Maritime Subsidies

“…The 2004 Guidelines maintained most of these provisions and eased the conditions for granting aid on certain aspects. The European Commission launched a consultation to revise the Maritime Guidelines in 2012 but decided to keep the current version "after strong lobbying from the shipping industry" (Werner, 2016). The 2009 Ship Management Guidelines are complementary to the Maritime Guidelines and set the conditions for ship management companies to qualify for the tonnage tax or other tax arrangements for shipping companies.…”

“…These include separate accounting for activities eligible and non-eligible to the scheme. Another measure consists of the "all or nothing options", requiring companies that are part of a group of undertakings to make the choice of entering jointly the scheme for all their eligible activities, or staying completely outside the benefits of the scheme -to avoid that firms choose the vessels based on their profitability (Werner, 2016). The Guidelines also mention an obligation to remain in the tonnage tax schemes for a period of at least ten years, which prevents companies from switching from the tonnage tax scheme to the general corporate income tax scheme when they suffer losses.…”

“…Both guidelines are binding on the Commission, but they cannot be considered legal acts of the European Union. They simply give greater legal security and predictability, as they ascertain how the European Commission will decide in an individual case(Werner 2016), when Member States notify new maritime state aid measures or when the Commission investigates existing measures. Similar guidelines are in force in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA); this means that large maritime nations such as Norway are guided by similar principles.…”