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… In those decisions, the Commission had considered that an emission allowance was equivalent to an intangible asset the value of which was determined by the market and that, therefore, the fact that the State gave it to undertakings free of charge gave them an ; that by not selling the allowance, by auction for example, the State deprived itself of a resource, with the result that such an implied a transfer of State resources; and that, finally, the at issue was …

… Equally, in Community law, there are no provisions of primary or secondary law prohibiting a Member State - even as a precautionary measure, as is the case with the general prohibition in Article 87 EC - from adopting certain measures in the context of the implementation of Directive 2003/87 and the emissions allowances trading scheme. …

… On the contrary, under Article 176 EC, a Member State may maintain or introduce more stringent measures than are required by Community law as long as those measures are compatible with the Treaty in general (see, by analogy, Case C-6/03 Deponiezweckverband Eiterköpfe [2005] ECR I-2753, paragraphs 27 to 32). 113 The Court considers that the differences, referred to in paragraph 112 of the present order, between the procedure for reviewing State aid and the review of NAPs reveal a fundamental …

… When a choice is possible between several military objectives for obtaining a similar military , the objective to be shall be that the attack on which may be expected to cause the least danger to civilian lives and to civilian objects. 4. …

… It is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural . ...” …

… Article 48 – Basic rule “In order to ensure respect for and of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives.” …

… In particular, the Member States are free, in balancing the various interests involved, to set their priorities as regards the of the and, as a result, to determine which goods or services they are to decide to subject to an environmental levy. …

… on the sectors of activity concerned. …

… It follows that neither the fiscal nature nor the economic or social aim or the objectives of of the or of human safety can suffice to remove it completely from the outset from the scope of the article (see, as regards selective exemptions from social security charges, Case 173/73 Italy v Commission [1974] ECR 709, paragraphs 27 and 28, and Maribel, paragraph 25; as regards a interest subsidy scheme made available to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aimed …

… It is also a in so far as the exemptions apply solely to undertakings which operate in the natural gas sector. 42. …

… In point of fact, the tax exemptions at issue are both financed from public funds and apt to confer a economic on the recipient undertakings (in that connection, the applicant explains that only two undertakings are able to benefit from the exemptions at issue: SA Fluxys from the provincial tax and SA Distrigaz from the municipal tax). …

… For my part, I must first point out that according to the Court’s settled case-law, in order to assess whether a measure of a public body constitutes State aid, it is necessary to ascertain whether four conditions are cumulatively met: (i) the measure must confer a on certain undertakings or the production of certain goods; (ii) the advantage must be accorded directly or indirectly from State resources; (iii) the measure must distort or threaten to distort competition, and (iv …

… It should be ascertained whether, in the light of the specific characteristics of the disputed national rules, the difference in taxable treatment under the legislation at issue in fact entails a use of resources and, correlatively, whether there is a , that is to say, whether the legislation places specific undertakings at an . 46. …

… It is not disputed that the FISAC finances local town planning and regional development projects which fall outside the scope of Article 87(1) EC because they do not confer on certain undertakings or sectors of activity. 113. …

… On that issue Advocate General Tizzano stated in his Opinion in Ferring (22) that ‘it can neither be accepted nor excluded a priori that failure to levy a tax on certain parties is tantamount to conferring a within the meaning of Article [87 EC]. …

… The ‘tolerated loss’ is fixed by the nitrogen and phosphates loss norms laid down in the Meststoffenwet, which were established with the aim of the . …

… The measure in question confers on recipients an which relieves them of charges that are normally borne by them; that is granted by the State (loss of revenue); that measure may adversely affect competition and trade between Member States, which is the case if the beneficiary carries on economic activity involving trade between Member States, and, lastly, the measure in question is specific or . 32In point 41 of the grounds of the decision, the Commission states that …

… The system aims to reduce the losses of nitrogen and phosphates by agricultural producers through infiltration into the . To attain that objective it requires farmers not to cause emissions of nitrogen and phosphates which are harmful to the . 10The MINAS system is based on the idea of a balanced use of nitrogen and phosphates by farmers. …

… Paragraph 53 of the BVergG provides: ‘From the tenders remaining after the elimination process, the most in technical and economic terms, in accordance with the criteria laid down in the invitation to tender, is to be (principle of the best tender).’ 13. …

… Referring to the lack of clarity of the expression ‘the most economically advantageous tender’ used in Article 26 of Directive 93/36, the Bundesvergabeamt first asks as a question of principle whether Community law allows the contracting authority to lay down criteria that pursue advantages which cannot be objectively assigned a direct economic value, such as advantages related to the of the . 31. …

… As regards the award criterion at issue in the main proceedings, the Court has already held that the use of renewable energy sources for producing electricity is useful for the in so far as it contributes to the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases which are amongst the main causes of climate change which the European Community and its Member States have pledged to combat (Case C-379/98 PreussenElektra [2001] ECR I-2099, paragraph 73). 41. …

… Given the of washing tablets for laundry and dishes, the Board of Appeal also maintained that the applicant’s competitors should also remain free to make such products using the simplest geometrical shapes. 26. …

… Finally, the Board of Appeal found that the use of coloured speckles was customary in that and that not only were coloured speckles appealing to the eye, but they might also indicate the presence of active ingredients, for which reason other traders must be able to use them for that purpose. 29. …

… The Board of Appeal also stated that the colours of the marks did not confer distinctive character on them, since white, which was associated with spotless cleanliness, was a traditional colour for soap powders, whilst green, which was also a basic colour, was attractive to the eye and had positive connotations since it was associated with environmental . 28. …

… The same applies to the purported purpose of the MINAS system, which, according to the Netherlands Government, is to the . There is in fact established case-law that Article 87(1) EC makes no distinction according to the causes or aims of the measures of State intervention concerned but defines them according to their effects. (43) 87. …

… I shall start by examining that argument. i) Whether there is an granted to certain undertakings or for the production of certain goods and whether the basis of the proposed exemption is justified by reason of the nature and general scheme of the system 62. …

… According to the Netherlands Government, that exemption confers no whatsoever on those undertakings but rectifies an error to their detriment in the MINAS system. The differentiation in their favour which the exemption regulation introduces, or even the fact that the measure is , is therefore justified, it contends, by the nature and general scheme of the system of manure levies. …

… Even if the aims relating to the of the pursued by the contracting authority by including that criterion are not achieved, it does not follow that an environmental criterion in an invitation to tender would be unlawful. 4. The connection between the award criterion and the subject-matter of the contract 53. …

… In paragraph 42 of the Evans Medical and Macfarlan Smith judgment, cited above, the Court stated that ‘in the most economically tender, contracting authorities may choose the criteria which they intend to apply, but their choice may relate only to criteria designed to identify the most economically advantageous tender’. 80. …

… In fact, therefore, the criterion was a disguised criterion of . 61. How much weight should be attached to these arguments? 62. …