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Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> France v Commission (State aid) [2001] EUECJ C-17/99 (22 March 2001) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2001/C1799.html Cite as: ECLI:EU:C:2001:178, [2001] EUECJ C-17/99, [2001] ECR I-2481, EU:C:2001:178, Case C-17/99 |
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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)
22 March 2001 (1)
(State aid - Rescue and restructuring aid - Procedure for the examination of State aid - Failure to order a Member State to disclose the requisite information)
In Case C-17/99,
French Republic, represented by K. Rispal-Bellanger and F. Million, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
applicant,
v
Commission of the European Communities, represented by G. Rozet, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
defendant,
APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Decision 1999/378/EC of 4 November 1998 on aid granted by France to Nouvelle Filature Lainière de Roubaix (OJ 1999 L 145, p. 18),
THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),
composed of: A. La Pergola, President of the Chamber, M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), L. Sevón, S. von Bahr and C.W.A. Timmermans, Judges,
Advocate General: S. Alber,
Registrar: H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar,
having regard to the Report for the Hearing,
after hearing oral argument from the parties at the hearing on 23 November 2000,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 11 January 2001,
gives the following
Legal background
'Aid for restructuring raises particular competition concerns as it can shift an unfair share of the burden of structural adjustment and the attendant social and industrial problems on to other producers who are managing without aid and to other Member States. The general principle should therefore be to allow restructuring aid only in circumstances in which it can be demonstrated that the approval of restructuring aid is in the Community interest. This will only be possible when strict criteria are fulfilled and full account is taken of the possible distortive effects of the aid.
'The sine qua non of all restructuring plans is that they must restore the long-term viability and health of the firm within a reasonable time scale and on the basis of realistic assumptions as to its future operating conditions. ...
'Where on an objective assessment of the demand and supply situation there is a structural excess of production capacity in a relevant market in the European Community served by the recipient, the restructuring plan must make a contribution, proportionate to the amount of aid received, to the restructuring of the industry serving the relevant market in the European Community by irreversibly reducing or closing capacity production. ...
'The amount and intensity of the aid must be limited to the strict minimum needed to enable restructuring to be undertaken and must be related to the benefits anticipated from the Community's point of view. Therefore, aid beneficiaries will normally be expected to make a significant contribution to the restructuring plan from their own resources or from external commercial financing. To limit the distortive effect, the form in which the aid is granted must be such as to avoid providing the company with surplus cash which could be used for aggressive, market-distorting activities not linked to the restructuring process. Nor should any of the aid go to finance new investment not required for the restructuring. ...
The facts
'Article 1
The aid in the form of an investment premium granted by France to Nouvelle Filature Lainière de Roubaix amounting to FRF 7.77 million may be considered to be compatible with the common market on the basis of Article 92(3)(c) of the Treaty.
Article 2
The aid in the form of an investment premium granted by France to Nouvelle Filature Lainière de Roubaix amounting to FRF 14.23 million is incompatible with the common market.
Article 3
1. The equity loan of FRF 18 million constitutes aid in so far as the rate applied by France is lower than the reference rate of 8.28% applicable at the time the loan was granted.
2. The aid referred to in paragraph 1 granted by France to Nouvelle Filature Lainière de Roubaix is incompatible with the common market.
Article 4
1. France shall take all necessary measures to recover from the recipient, Nouvelle Filature Lainière de Roubaix, the aid referred to in Article 2 which has already been illegally paid.
2. Repayment shall be made in accordance with the procedures and provisions of French law. The amounts to be repaid shall bear interest from the date on which the aid was paid to the recipient until the date on which it is effectively recovered. The interest shall be calculated on the basis of the reference rate used to calculate the net grant equivalent of regional aid.
3. France shall without delay abolish the aid referred to in Article 3 by applying normal market conditions corresponding at least to the reference rate of 8.28% applicable at the time the loan was granted.
Article 5
France shall inform the Commission within two months of the date of notification of this Decision of the measures it has taken to comply with it.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.
Substance
Breach of the obligation to make a prior order
Breach of the obligation to state reasons
Infringement of Article 92 of the Treaty
Costs
52. Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since the Commission has applied for costs and the French Republic has been unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs.
On those grounds,
THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)
hereby:
1. Dismisses the application;
2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.
La Pergola
von Bahr Timmermans
|
Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 22 March 2001.
R. Grass A. La Pergola
Registrar President of the Fifth Chamber
1: Language of the case: French.