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… At the same time, in the digital , it is particularly easy to make a copy, of perfect quality, of the data in a database at negligible cost and thus to derive an undue profit from the efforts of others. A mechanism for has thus been established in EU law. 2. Databases may admittedly, in the laws of the Member States, be protected by copyright. However, that protection normally requires a certain degree of originality in the or the layout of the data. …

… In the family of intellectual property rights, the sui generis right to of databases is one of the youngest members. Its introduction relates to digitisation and to the arrival of the internet. The exponential increase in the quantity of information available as a consequence of digitisation has made it particularly useful, and therefore economically , to arrange that information in databases that may be consulted online. …

… That is afforded only to national producers of RES-E, which would appear to receive more favourable treatment than importers of electricity (be it RES-E or conventional power) and than national producers of conventional electricity. At first sight, then, this would appear to be a . (104) 165. …

… What is more, the purely national nature of the Italian scheme to support the production of RES-E does not prevent that mechanism from being able to help safeguard the general interests of preserving the and the health and life of humans, animals and plants. 84. …

… Any endorsement of the support scheme by Directive 2009/28 serves to promote the of the and of the health of humans, animals and plants. In so far as it complies with the requirements of that directive, therefore, the aid may be regarded as being compatible with Article 107(3) TFEU. 177. …

… I therefore consider that it makes sense not to understand the criterion of as an absolute limit for the purposes of the derogation allowed under Article 9(1)(c) of the Birds Directive. On the contrary, it is necessary to examine whether the by-catch of bird species and its consequences are disproportionate to the recognised successes and of the method of capture. 61. …

… OPINION OF ADVOCATE GENERAL KOKOTT delivered on 19 November 2020 (1) Case C-900/19 Association One Voice, Ligue pour la des oiseaux v Ministre de la Transition écologique et solidaire, Other party: Fédération nationale des Chasseurs (Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (Council of State, France)) (Request for a preliminary ruling - - Directive 2009/147 - Conservation of wild birds - Authorisation of a traditional hunting method - Judicious use - Alternatives …

… Understood in this way, the criterion of fits in with the characteristics of the derogation allowed under Article 9(1)(c) of the Birds Directive that have already been discussed. 63. A balancing of interests is necessary in particular for the purpose of examining whether there is another satisfactory solution, as the alternatives tend to be solutions which achieve the objective of the hunting method investigated to a lesser extent. …

… with a view to the and, as the case may be, guaranteeing the supply of electricity. …

… The assessment of the effects (or impact) of certain ‘projects’ or certain ‘plans and programmes’ on the is one of the key instruments of EU law for attaining a high level of of the . 2. …

… A pro- interpretation of the SEA Directive is also justified by primary legislation: - Pursuant to Article 191(2) TFEU (successor to Article 174(2) EC), Union policy on the is to aim at a ‘high level of ’, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union. - Article 3(3) TEU provides that the Union works in particular for a ‘high level of and improvement of the quality of the ’. (37) 72. …

… However, this does not mean that the applicant, as an undertaking which owns one of the sites concerned by the State measure, is exempt from bearing the costs of the measure. 169 As is stated in paragraph 9 of the 2008 Guidelines, Member States may impose requirements for environmental that go beyond EU requirements, in order to reduce to the greatest possible extent negative externalities entailed by economic activities which can harm the , on account of the pollution which …

… Second plea in law: infringement of Article 107(1) TFEU in so far as the Commission wrongly concluded that Measure 1 conferred an or, in the alternative, in so far as it failed to establish that the initial amounts of the financial guarantees were too low 82 The applicant claims, in the first place, that the Commission has not positively established that Measure 1 had granted it a because the Commission simply relied on the judgment of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia …

… Therefore, the applicant has been granted an economic in the form of lower banking fees paid annually for the financial guarantee. …

… Thirdly, it must confer a on the recipient. …

… quantification of that tax being unconnected to the capacity to cause damage to the public water resources, as it is focused solely and exclusively on the income-generating capacity of hydroelectricity producers. 28 Article 191(2) TFEU provides that EU policy on the is to aim at a high level of and is to be based, inter alia, on the polluter pays principle. …

… , the Court must examine that condition first of all. 60 It is clear from settled case-law that in order to assess the nature of the granted to the recipients by a national measure, it is necessary to determine whether, under a particular legal regime, that national measure is such as to favour ‘certain undertakings or the production of certain goods’ over others which, in the light of the objective pursued by that regime, are in a comparable factual and legal situation and which …

… on the beneficiary and that it distorts or threatens to distort competition (see judgment of 19 December 2013, Association Vent De Colère! …

… According to point 109(a) of the 2008 Guidelines, Member States may grant operating aid in order to offset the difference between the cost of producing energy from RES, including the depreciation of additional investment for the of the , and the market price of the type of energy in question. That operating aid may then be granted until the plant has been fully depreciated according to normal accounting rules. …

… the hearing that their application to quash the contested decision is only for the State aid characterisation of the initial scheme (see paragraph 43 above). 97 It must be stated at the outset in that regard that, while categorisation as State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU presupposes that four conditions are met, namely, that there is an intervention by the State or through State resources, that the intervention is liable to affect trade between Member States, that it confers a …

… ] should make a significant contribution to the ’, specifying that the exemptions do not, by their very nature, undermine the general objectives pursued. …

… The aid consists in an exemption from energy tax, and such taxes are not only meant to raise financing for the authorities, but also to reduce the consumption of energy and thereby the . The 2001 Environmental aid guidelines contain rules for exemptions from environmental taxes. …

… criterion in the case of the exemption at issue. 54 In that regard, it is important to recall that, in order to constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) EC, a measure must, in particular, be capable of conferring a , to the exclusive benefit of certain undertakings or certain sectors of activity. …

… The fourth condition: the existence of a 79. According to the case-law of the Court, resulting from a general measure applicable without distinction to all economic operators do not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU. (39) Therefore, in order to classify a tax as conferring a , a three-step test must be carried out. …

… The basic foundation of this Law is Article 45 of the Constitution, a provision in which the of our becomes one of the guiding principles of social and economic policies. …

… Indeed, in that situation, the alleged is held by all electricity producers except those subject to taxes, which means that it is constituted by the reference framework itself. To put it another way, what is in such circumstance is not the , but rather the disadvantage.(52) 93. …

… Where the procedure is resumed, it is, on the other hand, incumbent on those bodies, when assessing the applicants’ merits, to ensure that they do not grant the interested parties an undue . …

… The complaint was rejected on 30 September 2015. 27 In his application for interim measures, Mr Galocha had claimed, inter alia, that, if the disputed appointments were annulled and a new procedure organised, the agents who had been appointed would have the of the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired since their appointment in the course of their duties. …

… According to Mr Galocha, there is also ‘a potential risk’ that, in the new procedure, Fusion for Energy would give the agents in question preferential treatment, as it would be to Fusion for Energy to recruit a candidate who had already acquired experience in the post to be filled. 28 The application for interim measures was dismissed by an order of 1 October 2015, Galocha v Joint undertaking Fusion for Energy (F-117/15 R, EU:F:2015:114), and the costs were reserved. …