Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2017:194
Date: 2017-03-09
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Tenth Chamber
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded;Appeal - successful
Origin: Greece

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber), 9 March 2017 1. State aid — Concept — Grant of an advantage to the beneficiaries — Complex evaluation of economic matters — Judicial review — Limits (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 2. Appeal — Grounds — Incorrect assessment of the facts and evidence — Inadmissibility — Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence — Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 256(1), second para., TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) 3. Appeal — Grounds — Inadequate statement of reasons — Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning — Lawfulness — Conditions (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 117) 4. Appeal — Grounds — Inadequate statement of reasons — Scope of the obligation to state reasons — Setting aside the judgment under appeal for infringement of the obligation to state reasons (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 117) 1. The Commission must make complex economic assessments when assessing the value of aid within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU. In those circumstances, the review by the EU judicature of such a process is necessarily restricted. It is limited to determining whether the rules governing procedure and the requirement for a statement of reasons have been complied with, whether the facts are accurately stated and whether there has been any manifest error of assessment or any misuse of powers. In particular, it is not for the EU judicature, in the context of that review, to substitute its own economic assessment for that of the Commission. (see paras 18-20) 2. See the text of the decision. (see paras 21, 45) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 31, 32) 4. See the text of the decision. (see para. 34)