Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2005:493
Date: 2005-07-21
Language of the case: Spanish
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Concepts: Notification and obligation to suspend payment of the aid
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Spain

Summary of the Judgment State aid — Aid projects — Notification to the Commission — Scope of the obligation — Aid to shipbuilding falling outside the scope of Directive 90/684 — Included — Lack of notification — Obligations of national courts (EC Treaty, Arts 93(3) and 94 (now Arts 88(3) EC and 89 EC); Council Directive 90/684) The Commission must be given prior notification, pursuant to Article 93(3) of the EC Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC), of a scheme of aid to shipbuilding and ship conversion, set up in a Member State, which does not fall within the scope of Directive 90/684 on aid to shipbuilding, if it is established that the scheme is capable of itself, having regard in particular to its effect on trade between Member States, of giving rise to the grant of State aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87(1) EC) and in the absence of a regulation adopted on the basis of Article 94 of the Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC) with a view to its exemption therefrom. It is for the national court, in cases of infringement of Article 93(3) of the EC Treaty, to draw the necessary consequences, in accordance with its national law, with regard to both the validity of the acts giving effect to the aid and the recovery of financial support granted in disregard of that provision. (see paras 28, 39, 50, operative part)