Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 13 October 2022 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Administratīvā rajona tiesa, Administratīvā apgabaltiesa – Latvia) – ‘Baltijas Starptautiskā Akadēmija’ SIA (C-164/21), ‘Stockholm School of Economics in Riga’ SIA (C-318/21) v Latvijas Zinātnes padome
(Joined Cases C-164/21 and C-318/21) 1
(References for a preliminary ruling – Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 – Article 2(83) – Direct and unconditional reference to EU law – Admissibility of the questions – Research and development and innovation aid – Concept of ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’ – Higher education establishment carrying on economic and non-economic activities – Determination of the primary goal)
Language of the case: Latvian
Referring court
Administratīvā rajona tiesa, Administratīvā apgabaltiesa
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicants: ‘Baltijas Starptautiskā Akadēmija’ SIA (C-164/21), ‘Stockholm School of Economics in Riga’ SIA (C-318/21)
Defendant: Latvijas Zinātnes padome
Operative part of the judgment
Article 2(83) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 [TFEU]
must be interpreted as meaning that an entity organised under private law which carries out several activities, including research, but the majority of whose revenue comes from economic activities, such as the provision of teaching services for consideration, may be regarded as being a ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’, within the meaning of that provision, provided that it can be established, in the light of all the relevant circumstances of the case, that its primary goal is to conduct, in complete independence, activities of fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development, possibly supplemented by activities for the dissemination of the results of those research activities, by means of teaching, publications or transfers of knowledge. In that context, such an entity cannot be required to earn a certain proportion of its revenue from its non-economic activities of research and dissemination of knowledge.
Article 2(83) of Regulation No 651/2014
must be interpreted as meaning that, in order for an entity to be regarded as a ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’, within the meaning of that provision, it is not necessary that that entity reinvests the revenue generated by its primary activity in that same primary activity.
Article 2(83) of Regulation No 651/2014
must be interpreted as meaning that the legal status of the shareholders and members of an entity and the possible profit-making nature of the activities carried out by them and of the objectives which they pursue do not constitute decisive criteria for the purposes of classifying that entity as a ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’, within the meaning of that provision.
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1 OJ C 189, 17.5.2021.OJ C 297, 26.7.2021.