Statement by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager following today's Court judgment on the Fiat tax State aid case in Luxembourg

Today's judgment by the Court of Justice annuls the Commission's 2015 decision finding that Luxembourg granted selective tax advantages to Fiat through a transfer pricing ruling, in breach of EU State aid rules. We will carefully study the judgment and its implications.

The Commission's decision concerned a tax ruling by Luxembourg to Fiat in 2012, which determined the methodology for the calculation of the taxable profit of Fiat's financing company. As a result of the tax ruling, Fiat reduced its tax burden up to €30 million since 2012.

Even if the Commission's decision was annulled, the judgment gives important guidance on the application of EU State aid rules in the area of taxation. The Court confirmed that action by Member States in areas that are not subject to harmonization by EU law is not excluded from the scope of the Treaty provisions on the monitoring of State aid.

The Commission is committed to continue using all the tools at its disposal to ensure that fair competition is not distorted in the Single Market through the grant by Member States of illegal tax breaks to multinational companies.

The Commission's work, both on enforcement of State aid rules and on the wider taxation agenda, is yielding results beyond individual State aid decisions. Some Member States have amended their tax legislation. Many Member States have incorporated OECD rules and introduced ruling practices to address loopholes and ensure more tax fairness. We have made a lot of progress already at national, European and global levels, and we need to keep working together to succeed. This includes continuing to look at aggressive tax planning measures of Member States under EU State aid rules, in light of the most recent case law of the Court.