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Dr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt

Senior Energy Advisor
Baker & McKenzie CVBA/SCRL
Not admitted to practice law in this jurisdiction

Biography

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt is a Senior Energy Advisor at the European & Competition Law Practice in the Baker McKenzie Brussels office. He joined the Firm in 2020.

Klaus-Dieter worked for 33 years at the European Commission, including four years at the European Court of Justice. When he left the European Commission, he was Deputy Director-General for Energy.

Klaus-Dieter is also an expert in EU Law, having spent 12 years in the Commissions' Legal Service where he was responsible for state aid, internal market and agriculture.

He is a Teaching Professor Bavarian Julius-Maximilians-University - Würzburg, Germany (since 2001), Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and Adjunct Professor at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS). He is author of a standard textbook on EU Law and co-editor of a commentary of the EU Treaties.

Practice Focus

During his 33 years at the European Commission, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt was instrumental in many major developments in EU Law and EU Energy Law and Policy. He played a key role in the evolution of the legal framework of the European state aid control, notably the establishment of private market investor tests. He was the central EU official in the recent reform of the European electricity market design as part of the 'Clean Energy for all Europeans' package. He chaired the Connecting Europe Facility's evaluation committee as well as the European gas, electricity and infrastructure fora.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Advised a global green energy company on key aspects of the emerging EU regulatory framework for renewable hydrogen and ammonia and the import schemes.
  • Advised a global Investment company on the overarching energy and climate framework under the Green Deal with particular focus on renewable energy sources, ETS, hydrogen, CC(U)S and energy efficiency.
  • Advised multiple clients on the EU’s recent energy price crisis, including the identification of existing legal means to adapt to such high prices and the contribution to the public debate on national and EU-level policy design to respond to the crisis.
  • Assisted and advised a multinational investor group with the analysis of the general electricity market framework and the framework for renewable electricity subsidies and public support on an EU-wide level.
  • Advised a consortium of companies on the current and future European framework for underground hydrogen storage activities in Europe.
  • Assisted a multinational gas companies on the competition aspect of strategy for the future investment in both hydrogen networks and hydrogen production activities.
  • Successfully assisted a large EU energy company on its application to obtain national funding for their new renewable hydrogen production project, using an innovative State aid approach (involving the framework for Important Projects of Common European Interest - IPCEI).
  • Assisted a national energy company with the designation of a pumped-storage plant as a critical cross-border energy infrastructure at EU level, in order to enable this project to receive EU funding.
  • Assisted a group of electricity power producers in examining the compatibility of the upcoming Greek electricity market reform with existing EU energy law.
  • Assisted one of Europe’s biggest Real Estate Company in the development of a company strategy for the revision of the performance of buildings directive and the energy efficiency directive.

Education

  • Free University of Berlin (Dr. jur.) (1985)
  • High Court of Hamburg (Second State Examination) (1985)
  • University of Hamburg (First State Exam) (1979)

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • German

Publications

  • "Die rechtlichen Grundlagen der Europäischen Union" (“The basic legal principles of the European Union), textbook on EU law, UTB no. 1669, 7th edition, Vienna 2020, 660 pages.

  • Commentary on the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (editor together with Prof C. O. Lenz), 6th edition, Cologne, Basel, Vienna, 2012; commentary on Articles 174-178 TFEU (Economic and Social Cohesion) and Articles 251-2281 TFEU, Art. 19 TEU, (Court of Justice).

  • “The ABC of European Union Law”, European documentary, 8th edition, Brussels 2020.

  • "Der Grundsatz des Vertrauensschutzes im Europäischen Gemeinschaftsrecht" (“The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations under European Community law”). PhD, Berlin 1987, Europa-Forschung (Research Europe) volume 15 (editors Grabitz, Molsberger, Hrbek), Engel-Verlag, Kehl a.Rh. 1988.
    Contributor to "Vertragsverletzungsverfahren" (infringement proceedings) (P.I.1.) and "Schadensersatzklage" (action for damages) (P.I.4.) in: Dauses (editor), Handbuch des EG-Wirtschaftsrechts (Handbook of EC commercial law), Munich 2021.

  • "Die Rückforderung zu Unrecht gewährter staatlicher Beihilfen beim Verkauf von Vermögenswerten des Beihilfenempfängers durch den Insolvenzverwalter" (“The claim for the return of wrongfully granted state aid in the sale of the recipient's assets by the liquidator”), ZIP 2001, p. 1301.

  • "Das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen öffentlichem Auftrag und Wettbewerb aus gemeinschaftsrechtlicher Sicht" (“The difficult course between public contracts and competition from a Community law perspective”), paper delivered at the 64th German Jurists Forum, in: Ständige Deputation des DJT (executive committee of the Association of German Jurists) (editor), Verhandlungen des 64. Deutschen Juristentages (debates on occasion of the 64th German Jurists Forum), 2002, volume 11/1, p. 09 et seqq.

  • "Auslegung und Rechtsfortbildung" (“Interpretation and the further development of the law by judges”), in: Schulze/Zuleeg, Handbuch für die deutsche Rechtspraxis (which could be translated into English as: Handbook for legal practice in Germany), Baden-Baden, 5th edition 2020.