State Aid & Competitive Neutrality

State Aid & Competitive Neutrality

We help to ensure a level playing field on the market in situations where private and public service production compete or public funds are used.

Whenever the public sector plans to support businesses, state aid rules must be taken into account. We have particular experience in a wide range of state aid cases, including public funding and cooperation arrangements. Our skilled experts can provide support in diverse issues, such as industrial policy projects, real estate and construction projects and sale and purchase of public property.

  • Analysis and Counselling
  • Disputes on national and EU level
  • Notifications and complaints to the European Commission
  • Competition and Consumer Authority Proceedings on competitive neutrality 
  • Training 

Latest references

UFF – Change from Association into Foundation
We assisted the association U-landshjälp från Folk till Folk i Finland rf in a reorganisation of its activities. The association, which is to be dissolved, established a foundation to continue the association’s operations. The transformation of the association into a foundation ensures that the association can continue its activities without altering its original purpose and sustainably support climate work and global development in the future. In the reorganisation, the association transferred its assets and liabilities and operations to the newly established foundation in their entirety. The association’s personnel also transferred to the foundation as existing employees. In the final stage of the reorganisation, the association will be dissolved. U-landshjälp från Folk till Folk i Finland sr will continue to be known by its familiar acronym UFF in the future. The former association will continue to promote the public good as a foundation by maintaining a recycling service in Finland and supporting development work in Africa and India. Through the recycling of clothes, UFF aims to bring about sustainable development that reduces extreme poverty in the world. UFF supports education, food security and income-earning opportunities in Africa and India. It also brings Finns into contact with sustainable development and the affairs of the developing world. In addition to the collection of clothes and donations, the foundation’s activities are made possible by state aid granted by Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the support of the European Union.   Virve Groning, UFF sr’s Managing Director: ‘The reorganisation has been a unique moment in UFF’s history. Our objectives were to strengthen the conditions for our future activities and to ensure the continuity of the organisation’s original missions: to support climate work and global development for sustainability. Thanks to Castrén & Snellman’s comprehensive expertise, we have been able to ensure that all the necessary aspects are covered in the reorganisation. By overseeing the change process in a careful and proactive way, we achieved reliable continuity for our practical service work in society, both for our climate service in Finland and our global development programme.’ 
Case published 18.6.2019
Neste – A EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB
We advised Neste as it signed a EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB. The loan will finance Neste’s investments related to research and development (R&D) in processing lower-quality feedstocks into high-quality renewable products; as well as the liquefied waste plastics (LWP) investment at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland. The R&D activities supported by the loan focus on the development of renewable solutions. These include, for example, expanding feedstock capabilities and technologies that enable the processing of new and lower-quality waste and residues into high-quality renewable end products. Part of the financing supports Neste’s liquefied waste plastics investment in Porvoo, related to upgrading low-quality plastic waste into high-quality feedstock at an industrial scale. The investment contributes to advancing circular economy solutions by enabling the use of hard-to-recycle plastic waste as a replacement for virgin fossil raw materials. The unit has an annual capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of liquefied waste plastic. Production ramp-up commenced in 2026.
Case published 19.8.2026
Aspo – Demerger and finance matters
We advised Aspo Plc, ESL Shipping Ltd and AtoBatC Shipping AB in relation to finance matters in connection with the demerger of Aspo, by which all the shares in ESL Shipping Ltd held by Aspo, together with the related assets and liabilities, will be transferred to a new independent company to be named ESL Shipping Group Plc. Aspo intends to apply for the shares of ESL Shipping Group to be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Nasdaq Helsinki. It is further intended that Aspo be renamed Telko Group Plc. 
Case published 19.8.2026
Lenders and Export Credit Agencies – EUR 514.4 million green project financing for Easpring Finland New Materials’ CAM plant
We acted as Finnish law legal adviser to the lenders and the export credit agencies in connection with the EUR 514.4 million green project financing for the development and construction of Easpring Finland New Materials Oy’s cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in Kotka, Finland. The borrower, Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, is a joint venture owned by Beijing Easpring Material Technology, Finnish Minerals Group and LG Energy Solution. The financing was provided by six international commercial banks, with Société Générale acting as financial adviser and mandated lead arranger together with Natixis as co-mandated lead arranger, and DNB, ICBC, ING and Standard Chartered participating as lenders, with support from the export credit agencies Finnvera and Sinosure. The project represents a significant milestone for Finland and the European battery value chain by strengthening Europe’s domestic supply of cathode active materials, a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. Once the first phase of the project is operational, the Kotka facility is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material annually, making it one of the largest CAM production plants in Europe and supplying leading battery manufacturers across Europe. 
Case published 21.7.2026
All cases

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