Andres: The Unfinished Business of a Seemingly Selective Non-Advantage. Case C-203/16 P Dirk Andres v European Commission: The Unfinished Business of a Seemingly Selective Non-Advantage

The Andres judgement has often been seen as a Milestone on selectivity, but in essence it is not. It rather deals with the absence of an advantage. In this contribution the author revisits Andres and concludes that, from a transactional perspective set forth in Sigma Alimentos Exterior, the outcome could well have been different. He also points out that Andres opened up a loophole to the state aid regime that could be exploited by providing targeted relief to over-inclusive anti-abuse measures. He concludes that it is primarily up to national legislators and domestic courts to guard against disproportional tax measures.