The Italian government did not give state aid to the Vatican by exempting it from a property levy, meaning the Holy See will not have to repay it five years of taxes, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled.
The judgement issued late on Thursday came after the EU executive in 2012 said Rome had broken state aid rules by waiving taxes on Vatican property in Italy since 2008.
The European Commission did not order the Vatican to pay back the property taxes from 2008-2012, a move that was challenged at the EU Court of Justice by Italian tax expert Carlo Pontesilli and a former Radical Party lawmaker, Maurizio Turco.
Pontesilli and Turco are expected to appeal against Thursday's ruling.
Vatican property which has been exempted from Italian tax includes shops, hospitals and schools, as well as apartment buildings.
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