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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Commission v Freistaat Sachsen (State aid) [2008] EUECJ C-334/07 (11 December 2008) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2008/C33407.html Cite as: ECLI:EU:C:2008:709, [2008] EUECJ C-334/07, EU:C:2008:709, [2009] 1 CMLR 42, [2008] EUECJ C-334/7 |
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(Appeal State aid Proposed scheme for aid to small and medium-sized enterprises Compatibility with the common market Criteria for assessing State aid Application ratione temporis Proposed scheme notified before the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 Decision subsequent to entry into force thereof Legitimate expectations Legal certainty Complete notification)
In Case C-334/07 P,
APPEAL under Article 56 of the Statute of the Court of Justice, brought on 17 July 2007,
Commission of the European Communities, represented by K. Gross, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
appellant,
the other party to the proceedings being:
Freistaat Sachsen, represented by Th. Lübbig, Rechtsanwalt,
applicant at first instance,
composed of C.W.A. Timmermans, President of Chamber, J.'C. Bonichot (Rapporteur), J. Makarczyk, P. Klūris and L. Bay Larsen, Judges;
Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,
Registrar: R. Grass,
having regard to the written procedure,
having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,
gives the following
Legal framework
Article 1(f), which defines: 'unlawful aid' as 'new aid, put into effect in contravention of Article [88](3) of the Treaty';
Article 1(h), which contains the following definition:
''interested party' shall mean any Member State and any person, undertaking or association of undertakings whose interests might be affected by the granting of aid, in particular the beneficiary of the aid, competing undertakings and trade associations'.
Article 2(2), which provides:
'In a notification, the Member State concerned shall provide all necessary information in order to enable the Commission to take a decision pursuant to Articles 4 and 7 (hereinafter referred to as 'complete notification').'
Article 4(1), which provides:
'The Commission shall examine the notification as soon as it is received. Without prejudice to Article 8, the Commission shall take a decision pursuant to paragraphs 2 [decision that the notified measure does not constitute aid], 3 [decision not to raise objections] or 4 [decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure].'
Article 4(5), which provides:
'The decisions referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 shall be taken within two months. That period shall begin on the day following the receipt of a complete notification. The notification will be considered as complete if, within two months from its receipt, or from the receipt of any additional information requested, the Commission does not request any further information. ...'
Article 4(6), which reads as follows:
'Where the Commission has not taken a decision in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 within the period laid down in paragraph 5, the aid shall be deemed to have been authorised by the Commission. The Member State concerned may thereupon implement the measures in question after giving the Commission prior notice thereof, unless the Commission takes a decision pursuant to this Article within a period of 15 working days following receipt of the notice.'
Background to the dispute
The procedure before the Court of First Instance and the judgment under appeal
the second paragraph of Article 2 thereof, to the effect that aid exceeding the scope and the aid intensities of Regulation No 70/2001 is incompatible with the common market;
Article 3 thereof, to the effect that operating aid provided for by the subprogramme 'Cooperation' is incompatible with the common market, and
Article 4 thereof, to the effect that the Federal Republic of Germany may implement the four subprogrammes at issue only if they have been brought into line with that decision.
Forms of order sought
The appeal
The first plea
Arguments of the parties
Findings of the Court
Referral of the case back to the Court of First Instance
Costs
On those grounds, the Court (Second Chamber) hereby:
1. Sets aside the judgment of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities of 3 May 2007 in Case T-357/02 Freistaat Sachsen v Commission;
2. Refers the case back to the Court of First Instance of the European Communities;
3. Reserves costs.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: German.