Austria Suffers Setback in Fight Over U.K.’s Hinkley Point Aid

(Bloomberg) -- Austria should lose its fight to overturn European Union approval of U.K. aid to help Electricite de France SA build Britain’s first new nuclear plant in decades, according to an adviser to the EU’s top court.

Advocate General Gerard Hogan of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion on Thursday that EU judges should dismiss the appeal. He added that a lower EU tribunal was “fully entitled” to dismiss the nation’s first challenge as well. The Luxembourg-based EU court follows such advice in a majority of case.

Austria in 2015 challenged the European Commission’s decision to back the U.K. measures, after a number of agreed changes. Austria lost in 2018 and appealed one last time.

The 20 billion-pound ($25 billion) project in southwest England is scheduled to start generating power by the middle of next decade, supplying 6 million homes.

The case is: C-594/18 P, Austria v. Commission.

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