Order;Information — ECLI:EU:C:2024:137
Date: 2024-02-08
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded
Origin: Italy

Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 8 February 2024 – Tirrenia di navigazione v Commission (Case C‑514/22 P) (1) ( Appeal – Article 181 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court – State aid – Maritime transport – Service of general economic interest – Decision declaring the aid unlawful – Decision declaring the aid compatible in part and incompatible in part with the internal market and ordering that it be recovered – Rescue aid – Compatibility with the internal market – Six month time limit – Extension – Obligation to submit a restructuring or liquidation plan – Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty – Tax exemption – Advantage – Adverse effect on trade between Member States – Adverse effect on competition – Excessive length of the procedure – Legitimate expectations – Legal certainty – Principle of good administration – Principle of proportionality – Rights of the defence – General Court’s obligation to state reasons – Manifest error of assessment – Freedom to conduct a business – Right to property – Unjust enrichment – Rules of Procedure of the General Court – Submission of an item of evidence out of time ) 1. Appeal – Grounds of appeal – Inadequate or contradictory grounds – Scope of the obligation to state reasons – Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning – Whether permissible – Conditions (Art. 256 TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para.) (see paragraphs 24-26) 2. Aid granted by a Member State – Concept – Grant of an advantage to the beneficiaries – Burden incumbent on the Commission of proving that there is an advantage – Relevant date for the purpose of determining whether there is an advantage – Date of the legally binding measure requiring the competent national authority to grant the aid – Aid which can materialise only upon the occurrence of future and uncertain events – Irrelevant (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paragraphs 39-40) 3. Aid granted by a Member State – Administrative procedure – Obligations of the Commission – Diligent and impartial examination – Compliance with the principle of good administration – Examination of several national aid measures in a single procedure – Whether permissible (Arts 108(2) and 335 TFEU) (see paragraphs 53-59) 4. Judicial proceedings – Production of evidence – Time limit – Evidence lodged out of time – Conditions – Submission of a decision by the Commission several months after the decision of the General Court to rule without an oral part of the procedure – Not permissible (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 85(3)) (see paragraphs 70-72) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the appeal as manifestly unfounded; 2. Orders Tirrenia di navigazione SpA to pay the costs. 1 OJ C 359, 19.9.2022.