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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Regie Networks (State aid) [2008] EUECJ C-333/07 (22 December 2008) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2008/C33307.html Cite as: [2009] 2 CMLR 20, [2008] EUECJ C-333/07, EU:C:2008:764, [2008] EUECJ C-333/7, ECLI:EU:C:2008:764 |
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(State aid Aid scheme to support local radio stations Financed by a parafiscal charge on advertising companies Favourable decision by the Commission at the conclusion of the preliminary stage of the review procedure under Article 93(3) of the EC Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC) Aid that may be compatible with the common market Article 92(3) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87(3) EC) Decision challenged on the ground that it is unlawful Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based Assessment of the facts Whether the parafiscal charge is compatible with the EC Treaty)
In Case C-333/07,
REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Cour Administrative d'Appel de Lyon (France), made by decision of 12 July 2007, received at the Court on 17 July 2007, in the proceedings
Société Régie Networks
Direction de Contrôle Fiscal Rhône-Alpes Bourgogne,
composed of V. Skouris, President, P. Jann, C. W. A. Timmermans (Rapporteur), K. Lenaerts, A. à Caoimh and J.-C. Bonichot, Presidents of Chambers, K. Schiemann, P. Klūris, E. Juhász, L. Bay Larsen and P. Lindh, Judges,
Advocate General: J. Kokott,
Registrar: L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator,
having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 30 April 2008,
after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:
Régie Networks, by B. Geneste and C. Medina, avocats,
the French Government, by G. de Bergues and B. Messmer, acting as Agents,
the Commission of the European Communities, by J.-P. Keppenne and B. Martenczuk, acting as Agents,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 26 June 2008,
gives the following
Legal context
'Sound radio broadcasting services in respect of which the commercial revenue deriving from broadcasts of brand or sponsorship advertising is less than 20% of their total turnover shall be granted aid in accordance with the procedure laid down by decree by the Conseil d'État.
To fund that aid, a charge shall be levied on the revenue from advertisements broadcast on sound radio and television.
Revenue from sound radio broadcasting services in connection with advertisements to support collective or public interest initiatives shall not be taken into account for the purpose of determining the threshold laid down in the first paragraph of this article.'
'With effect from 1 January 1998, a parafiscal charge on advertisements broadcast on sound radio and television [('the charge on advertising companies')] shall be introduced for a period of five years to fund an aid scheme for the benefit of those holding a licence to provide sound radio broadcasting services in respect of which the commercial revenue deriving from broadcasts of brand or sponsorship advertising is less than 20% of the total turnover.
The objective of this charge is to promote radio broadcasting.'
'The charge shall be levied on the sums, exclusive of agency fees and value added tax, paid by advertisers for the broadcasting of their advertisements to French territory.
Those liable to pay the tax are the persons responsible for marketing such advertisements.
The rate of tax shall be determined in a joint order by the Ministers responsible for the budget and communications and shall be paid in stages on the basis of the quarterly revenue of the companies liable for the charge and the following upper limits shall apply:
...'
'The amount of the operating grant shall be determined in accordance with a scale to be drawn up by the [FSER] Committee, taking account of the revenue from normal current operations of the radio station in question before deducting the advertising marketing costs. The scale shall be published.'
'The charge shall be levied on the sums, exclusive of agency fees and value added tax, paid by advertisers to advertising companies for the broadcasting of their advertisements from French territory.
...'
The dispute in the main proceedings and the question referred for a preliminary ruling
The Commission's decisions on the successive radio broadcasting aid schemes
The facts of the case
'Is the [contested decision] valid in respect of the statement of reasons, the assessment made as to the compatibility with the EC Treaty of the funding of the radio broadcasting aid scheme for the period 1998'2002 and in respect of the contention that there was no increase in the budgetary resources for the aid scheme at issue?'
The question
Admissibility
Substance
Whether the contested decision is valid in the light of the obligation to state adequate reasons
The alleged error in the assessment of the facts relating to changes in the budgetary resources allocated to the radio broadcasting aid scheme
The alleged error of law regarding the compatibility with the Treaty of the charge on advertising companies
Costs
On those grounds, the Court (Grand Chamber) hereby rules:
The decision of the Commission of the European Communities of 10 November 1997 not to raise any objections to the new version of an aid scheme to support local radio stations (State aid No N 679/97 France) is invalid.
The effects of the declaration that that decision of the Commission of the European Communities of 10 November 1997 is invalid are suspended pending the adoption of a new decision by the Commission under Article 88 EC. Those effects are to be preserved for a period not exceeding two months from the date of delivery of this judgment if the Commission decides to adopt such a new decision under Article 88(3) EC, and for a reasonable further period if the Commission decides to initiate the procedure under Article 88(2) EC. Only undertakings which, prior to the date of delivery of this judgment, brought legal proceedings or made an equivalent complaint regarding the levying of the parafiscal charge on advertising broadcast by sound radio or television, established by Article 1 of Decree No 97 1263 of 29 December 1997 creating a parafiscal charge for the benefit of a fund to support radio broadcasting, are excluded from the temporal limitation of the effects of this judgment.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: French.