Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2007:616
Date: 2007-10-18
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Concepts: Obligations of the Member States;Amount of aid to be recovered;Procedure under Article 88 EC
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Non-compliance with a Commission decision concerning State aid – Defences (Arts 10 EC and 88(2) EC) 2. State aid – Commission decision finding aid incompatible with the common market and ordering its repayment (Art. 88(2) EC) 3. Member States – Obligations – Duty of loyal cooperation with the Community institutions (Art. 10 EC) 1. The only defence available to a Member State in opposing an infringement action by the Commission under Article 88(2) EC is to plead that it was absolutely impossible for it to implement the decision in question. Difficulties in implementing decisions involving the recovery of amounts of aid from a large number of undertakings in conjunction with numerous individual calculation parameters do not constitute an absolute impossibility. A Member State which, in giving effect to a Commission decision on State aid, encounters unforeseen and unforeseeable difficulties, whether of a political, legal or practical kind, or becomes aware of consequences overlooked by the Commission, must submit those problems to the Commission for consideration, together with proposals for suitable amendments to the decision in question. In such cases, the Commission and the Member State concerned must work together in good faith with a view to overcoming the difficulties whilst fully observing the provisions of the Treaty and in particular those on aid. (see paras 27-28) 2. No provision of Community law requires the Commission, when ordering the recovery of aid declared incompatible with the common market, to fix the exact amount of the aid to be recovered. It is sufficient for the Commission’s decision to include information enabling the recipient to work out itself, without overmuch difficulty, that amount. (see para. 29) 3. A Member State which is the addressee of a Commission decision finding that aid granted by that Member State is incompatible with the common market and ordering its repayment fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 10 EC if it fails to provide to the Commission, which has requested it, the information necessary in order to determine the final amount of aid to be repaid and takes no recovery action, arguing that it is impossible to identify a reliable methodology for calculating that amount. (see paras 45-52)