Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2017:388
Date: 2017-05-18
Language of the case: Romanian
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Romania

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 18 May 2017 1. State aid — Definition — Aid from State resources — Aid granted to a public undertaking — Resources of the undertaking constantly under public control — Included (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 2. State aid —Definition — Aid granted to a public undertaking — Undertaking controlled by the State — Imputability to the State of the aid measure — Set of indicators to be taken into consideration (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 3. State aid — Definition — Assessment according to the criterion of the private investor — Grant, by an undertaking controlled by the State, of payment facilities to another undertaking — Assessment of all factors relevant to the transaction at issue and its context (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 4. State aid — Effect on trade between Member States — Adverse effect on competition — Criteria for assessment — Liberalised sector (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 5. State aid — Definition — Aid granted to a public undertaking — Grant, by an undertaking controlled by the State, of payment facilities to another undertaking — Measure liable to constitute State aid — Conditions (Art. 107(1) TFEU) 6. State aid — Planned aid — Duty of prior notification and provisional suspension of the implementation of the aid — Scope — Measured classified as State aid by the national court — Included (Art. 108(3) TFEU) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 14-17) 2. See the text of the decision. (see paras 18-20) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 22-27) 4. See the text of the decision. (see paras 28-36) 5. In circumstances such as those in the main proceedings, the decision of a company of which a Member State is the main shareholder to accept, in order to extinguish a debt, a transfer in lieu of payment of an asset which is the property of another company of which that Member State is the only shareholder and to pay a sum corresponding to the difference between the estimated value of that asset and the amount of that debt is liable to constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU if: – that decision constitutes an advantage granted directly or indirectly by means of State resources and is imputable to the State, – the beneficiary undertaking has not obtained facilities comparable to a private creditor, and – that decision is liable to affect trade between the Member States and distort competition. It is for the referring court to ascertain whether those conditions are met. (see para. 1) 6. If a national court classifies as State aid the decision of a company of which a Member State is the majority shareholder to accept a transfer in lieu of payment of an asset owned by another company of which that Member State is the sole shareholder, in order to extinguish a debt, and to refund a sum corresponding to the difference between the estimated value of that asset and the amount of the debt, the authorities of that Member State are required to notify that aid to the Commission before it is put into effect, in accordance with Article 108(3) TFEU. (see para. 2)