CJEU, judgment of 24 September 2026 – C-503/25, C-504/25: The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Art. 107(3)(c) TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), in conjunction with the Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty, does not preclude national legislation that excludes undertakings under Italian special administration from relief granted to particularly electricity- or natural-gas-intensive undertakings, provided that admission to such special administration presupposes the insolvency of the undertaking concerned.
State aid dispute over energy relief
The subject matter of Joined Cases C-503/25 and C-504/25 was national relief for undertakings with high natural gas or electricity consumption. Under Italian law, this relief was not available to all energy-intensive undertakings. Undertakings classified as “undertakings in difficulty” within the meaning of the European Commission’s Guidelines on rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty were excluded.
The proceedings concerned Acciaierie d’Italia SpA under special administration. The company had been placed under the so-called “amministrazione straordinaria” under Italian law. In addition, its insolvency had been established by a decision of the competent Italian court.
In December 2024, the Italian Cassa per i servizi energetici e ambientali, or CSEA, refused to include the company in the lists of electricity- and gas-intensive undertakings for 2025. As a result, the company did not receive the relief at issue here. The refusal was based on the fact that, due to the special administration and the established insolvency, the company had to be regarded as an undertaking in difficulty.
Main proceedings before the Regional Administrative Court of Lombardy
Applications for inclusion in energy-intensive lists
On 14 November 2024, Acciaierie d’Italia applied to CSEA to be included, for 2025, both in the list of undertakings with high electricity consumption and in the list of undertakings with high natural gas consumption. Registration in these lists was a prerequisite for claiming the nationally provided relief.
CSEA initially communicated provisional negative assessments. After the company had submitted comments on these assessments, CSEA rejected the applications by two decisions dated 17 December 2024.
Action against the refusal
Acciaierie d’Italia brought two actions against this before the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per la Lombardia (TAR Lombardy, Regional Administrative Court of Lombardy). The main proceedings before the TAR Lombardy were conducted under general register file number No. 531/2025. The national court stayed the proceedings and referred questions on the interpretation of EU law to the CJEU.
According to the company’s submissions, a company under special administration cannot automatically be regarded as an undertaking in difficulty within the meaning of the relevant guidelines. Under Italian law, special administration is intended precisely to continue, resume or reorganise the undertaking’s business activity and to avoid the cessation of operations.
Legal framework of the decision
Art. 107 TFEU and State aid
Art. 107(1) TFEU sets out the principle that aid granted by a Member State or through State resources is incompatible with the internal market where, by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, it distorts or threatens to distort competition and affects trade between Member States.
Art. 107(3)(c) TFEU, however, permits certain aid to be considered compatible with the internal market. This concerns aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
Guidelines on undertakings in difficulty
The Commission’s Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty specify the conditions under which aid for such undertakings may be compatible with the internal market on the basis of Art. 107(3)(c) TFEU.
According to point 20 of those Guidelines, an undertaking is considered to be in difficulty when, without intervention by the State, it will almost certainly be condemned to going out of business in the short or medium term. This is the case in particular where the undertaking is the subject of collective insolvency proceedings or fulfils the criteria under national law for being placed in such proceedings at the request of its creditors.
The CJEU also relied on point 23 of the Guidelines. Under that point, an undertaking whose survival is in jeopardy cannot, in principle, be considered an appropriate vehicle for promoting other public policy objectives until its viability is assured.
Aid in the energy and climate sector
The Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy, as well as the subsequent Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy, refer to the concept of an undertaking in difficulty. They provide that energy aid may not be granted to undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines.
The Italian rules for undertakings with high natural gas or electricity consumption adopted this exclusion. Under the national provisions relevant to the proceedings, undertakings in difficulty were excluded from the relief in question.
Italian special administration as insolvency proceedings
Purpose of special administration under Italian law
Italian special administration under Decreto legislativo No. 270/1999 (Italian Legislative Decree No. 270/1999) is a collective procedure for large commercial undertakings in insolvency. It is intended to preserve productive assets by continuing, redirecting or reorganising the undertaking’s business activity.
According to the Italian provisions reproduced in the judgment, admission to special administration presupposes certain requirements. These include, among other things, a minimum number of employees and a certain level of indebtedness. If the requirements are met, the competent court may establish insolvency.
For particularly large undertakings, Decreto-legge No. 347/2003 (Italian Decree-Law No. 347/2003) provides for a procedure of immediate admission to special administration. This set of rules also concerns insolvent undertakings and is linked to size and indebtedness criteria.
Classification by the CJEU
The Court of Justice proceeded on the basis that an undertaking under a special administration such as the Italian regime generally falls within the concept of an undertaking in difficulty. The decisive factor was that special administration, as structured by statute, constitutes a collective procedure for insolvent undertakings.
The CJEU pointed out that admission to special administration, under the relevant national provisions, appears to require a prior judicial finding of the insolvency of the undertaking concerned. The final examination of the national requirements remains a matter for the referring court.
In addition, the Court of Justice noted that Italian special administration is expressly listed as insolvency proceedings in Annex A to Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings.
No decisive significance of the restructuring purpose
Continuation objective does not alter the State aid classification
In the CJEU’s view, the purpose of special administration, namely to restore the economic viability of the undertaking, does not preclude classification as an undertaking in difficulty. The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines themselves are intended to make it possible, under certain conditions, to rescue or restructure undertakings in difficulty.
According to the decision, it does not follow that every procedure with a restructuring objective excludes the concept of an undertaking in difficulty. Precisely because such procedures are directed at restoring economic viability, the undertakings concerned may nevertheless fall within the scope of the Guidelines.
Distinction between energy relief and rescue aid
The CJEU also addressed the argument that it was contradictory to deny an undertaking in restructuring proceedings relief that could improve its economic situation. The Court of Justice did not follow this approach.
It distinguished between the energy relief at issue and aid for rescue or restructuring. The energy relief did not serve as rescue or restructuring aid within the meaning of the relevant Guidelines. An undertaking in difficulty may, under point 23 of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, pursue other policy objectives as a suitable aid instrument only once its viability has been secured.
Decision in the joined cases
Requests for a preliminary ruling were admissible
The Italian Government had challenged the admissibility of the requests. In essence, it argued that there was no reasoning for referring the matter to the Court of Justice and that the questions concerned national law.
The CJEU rejected these objections. It clarified that questions concerning the interpretation of EU law generally enjoy a presumption of relevance. In the specific case, it was not obvious that the interpretation of EU law bore no relation to the dispute in the main proceedings.
Core statement of the CJEU
The Court of Justice answered the questions to the effect that Art. 107(3)(c) TFEU, in conjunction with the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, does not preclude national provisions that exclude undertakings under special administration from the relief granted to undertakings with high natural gas or electricity consumption.
According to the decision, this applies insofar as the exclusion is based on the fact that those undertakings, due to the requirements of special administration, are to be classified as undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of point 20 of the Guidelines. The decisive factor is that admission to special administration depends on the insolvency of the undertakings.
Significance for State aid support schemes
Strict link to the status of the undertaking
The decision illustrates the importance of the status of an undertaking in State aid law. Undertakings that are the subject of collective insolvency proceedings or that meet the criteria for such proceedings may fall within the concept of an undertaking in difficulty.
For national support schemes in the energy, climate and environmental sectors, the classification is significant. The relevant EU guidelines exclude the granting of certain energy aid to undertakings in difficulty.
The decision concerns in particular the following points:
- the interpretation of Art. 107(3)(c) TFEU,
- the concept of an undertaking in difficulty under point 20 of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines,
- the State aid treatment of national energy relief,
- the classification of a national special administration where it is linked to insolvency,
- the distinction between energy aid and rescue and restructuring aid.
The role of the national court remains
The CJEU has provided a binding interpretation of the EU-law criteria. However, the final application to the dispute in the main proceedings remains a matter for the TAR Lombardy. That court must examine how the national requirements for special administration are to be assessed in the specific proceedings.
The judgment was published in Luxembourg on 24 September 2026. In the decision, the Court of Justice made clear that restoring the economic viability of an undertaking does not mean that an insolvency-related procedure falls outside the scope of the concept of an “undertaking in difficulty”.
Classification in connection with further aid
The decision stands alongside other State aid matters connected with Acciaierie d’Italia. On 9 February 2026, the European Commission approved an Italian rescue loan of up to EUR 390 million in favour of the company. According to the Commission, this loan was intended in particular to cover operating costs until the transfer of the activities to a new operator to be determined in the ongoing selection procedure.
The rescue loan was designed for a maximum of six months and served, among other things, to pay suppliers and wages. However, that approval concerned a different State aid measure from the energy relief for electricity- and natural-gas-intensive undertakings at issue in the CJEU proceedings.
Conclusion on the CJEU’s decision
The CJEU has clarified that national rules may exclude undertakings under insolvency-based special administration from energy relief for electricity- or natural-gas-intensive undertakings. The decisive point is that such undertakings may be regarded as undertakings in difficulty within the meaning of the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines.
According to the decision, the restructuring purpose of special administration does not alter this classification. Rather, the restoration of economic viability is precisely the subject matter of the EU rules on rescue and restructuring aid.
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