Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2009:237
Date: 2009-07-01
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Concepts: Statement of reasons;Formal investigation procedure;Pleas in law;Obligations of the Member States;Definition of undertaking;Commission decision following the formal investigation procedure;Damage to competition and effect on trade
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Netherlands

summary of the consequences of those considerations as regards the part of the rescue aid amounting to EUR 35.75 million, the statement of reasons for the contested decision discloses in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasoning followed by the Commission and thus meets the requirements of Article 253 EC. The requirement to register the State’s EUR 35.75 million claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie in the bankruptcy proceedings – Arguments of the parties 154 Applicants 1 and 3 argue that the Commission was wrong in deciding that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had to register with the administrator its EUR 35.75 million claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings. 155 The Commission accepted in its decision of 16 December 2003 that the sum of EUR 35.75 million should be used to finance the redundancies of staff members and the rescission of the redundant contracts of Kliq Reïntegratie, and that Kliq Reïntegratie was thereafter to be placed in liquidation, which would be incompatible with recovery of that sum from KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie. 156 The Commission was aware that Kliq Reïntegratie would function, under the planned restructuring operation, only as an entity in which the non-profitable parts of KG Holding would be liquidated and Kliq Reïntegratie would in turn be placed in liquidation after its various debts and staff redundancy plans had been settled. As the Commission stated in Sections 2.1 and 2.4 of its decision of 16 December 2003, the EUR 35.75 million was intended to provide the means to meet commitments under current contracts and cover the costs of the social plan. 157 In their replies, Applicants 1 and 3 claim that the reformulation of the obligations imposed on the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the decision of 16 December 2003 was unnecessary, since that decision already laid down obligations to apply if the rescue aid was not converted into restructuring aid or if the Commission did not authorise restructuring aid. Furthermore, given the way in which the investigation was limited in the initiating decision, the Commission should have confined its examination to the request for approval of the restructuring aid and, in accordance with the decision of 16 December 2003, merely stated that, if the Commission did not give the approval sought, it would be for the Kingdom of the Netherlands to demonstrate that the rescue loan had been or was being reimbursed, or that it had been offset in accordance with national bankruptcy law. The question of the extent to which the Kingdom of the Netherlands had met that obligation should not be covered in the contested decision. Investigation of the restructuring aid notified and the procedure initiated to that end under Article 88(2) EC cannot be used to check compliance with an earlier decision and the obligations it imposed on the Kingdom of the Netherlands or obligations that stem from it for the latter. 158 Applicant 3 adds that on 23 December 2003 the Kingdom of the Netherlands concluded a EUR 45 million loan agreement with KG Holding. That company in turn concluded a EUR 35.75 million loan agreement with Kliq Reïntegratie and a EUR 9.25 million loan agreement with Kliq. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has no claim on Kliq Reïntegratie either under the loan agreement or under national law. 159 Applicant 3 claims that Kliq Reïntegratie cannot be described as a recipient undertaking. The Commission does not state, either in the contested decision or in the decision of 16 December 2003 approving the rescue loan, that State aid had been granted to Kliq Reïntegratie. In the decision of 16 December 2003 and in paragraph 24 and Article 1 of the contested decision, the Commission refers to State aid only with regard to KG Holding. 160 Applicant 3 adds that Kliq Reïntegratie can in no way be described as a recipient of State aid since, at the time the EUR 35.75 million loan was granted to it, it was no longer engaged in economic activity and therefore could no longer be considered to be an undertaking for the purposes of Article 87(1) EC. The loan agreement between KG Holding and Kliq Reïntegratie, approved by the Commission in its decision of 16 December 2003, is dated 24 December 2003. The activities of Kliq Reïntegratie were transferred to Kliq with effect from 1 October 2003. 161 The Commission stated in Table 2 of its decision of 16 December 2003 that, although the purpose of the loan did not appear to be strictly limited to maintaining KG Holding’s normal activity, it could none the less be regarded as a rescue loan in this case. The EUR 35.75 million loan was in fact needed in order to cover the redundancy costs of 1 200 staff members and the rescission of leasing and rental contracts that had become redundant. The Commission added that that loan should also enable the undertaking to have sufficient liquid assets to meet its current contractual commitments. 162 According to Applicant 3, it is possible that, in Article 3 of the contested decision, the Commission intended merely to indicate that the Kingdom of the Netherlands should register the EUR 35.75 million claim arising under the State loan with the administrator in the bankruptcy proceedings of the contracting party to which the State had lent that sum, namely KG Holding. However, the State registered a claim with KG Holding’s administrator and with Kliq Reïntegratie’s administrator. 163 In his reply, Applicant 3 refers to paragraph 9 of the initiating decision, according to which KG Holding was to liquidate Kliq Reïntegratie, which was losing money, and set up a new subsidiary, Kliq. Under the restructuring plan, it was Kliq which was to restore the viability of KG Holding in the long term. In paragraph 10 of the initiating decision, the Commission also stated that Kliq Reïntegratie was to be liquidated before the end of 2004. In the diagram in paragraph 11 of the initiating decision, the Commission put the words ‘To be closed’ next to the name of Kliq Reïntegratie. 164 The Commission disputes the arguments put forward by Applicants 1 and 3. – Findings of the Court 165 Applicants 1 and 3 claim first of all that allocation of the EUR 35.75 million rescue loan to financing the liquidation of Kliq Reïntegratie, as provided for in the Commission decision of 16 December 2003, is incompatible with the obligation to register the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie. 166 As a preliminary point, it should be noted, as is clear from paragraph 10 of the Guidelines, that rescue aid is by nature temporary assistance. According to paragraph 23(d) of the Guidelines, it must be accompanied by an undertaking on the part of the Member State concerned to communicate to the Commission, not later than six months after the rescue aid measure has been authorised, a restructuring plan or a liquidation plan or proof that the loan has been reimbursed in full. Paragraph 25 of the Guidelines states that rescue aid is a one-off operation designed to keep a company in business for a limited period, during which its future can be assessed. 167 It follows that, in principle, unless a restructuring plan or a liquidation plan is communicated to the Commission, rescue aid must be reimbursed. In this case, according to the Commission, reimbursement is to be made by registration of the EUR 35.75 million claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie. 168 The Commission decision of 16 December 2003 does not exclude reimbursement of the aid by means of such registration. It is clear from paragraphs 1 and 2.1 of that decision that the aid was allocated for the rescue of the Kliq group, namely KG Holding and its subsidiaries Kliq and Kliq Reïntegratie. In Sections 2.1 and 2.4 of that decision, the Commission stated that the EUR 35.75 million was intended to provide the means to meet commitments under current contracts and cover the costs of Kliq Reïntegratie’s social plan. 169 The Commission approved the rescue aid in accordance with the Guidelines. Moreover, in the decision of 16 December 2003, it is stated that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had undertaken, in accordance with paragraph 23(d) of the Guidelines, to communicate a restructuring plan or a liquidation plan or proof that the loan had been reimbursed in full. 170 In the light of the foregoing, it is clear that the argument put forward by Applicants 1 and 3, that the allocation of the rescue aid referred to in the Commission decision of 16 December 2003 is incompatible with reimbursement, must be rejected. 171 As regards the argument of Applicants 1 and 3 that the contested decision is redundant since the decision of 16 December 2003 already sets out the obligations imposed on the Kingdom of the Netherlands if rescue aid is not converted into restructuring aid or if the Commission does not authorise restructuring aid, it should be noted that the mere fact that a decision is redundant does not mean that it is unlawful. 172 In their replies, Applicants 1 and 3 claim that, according to the initiating decision, the contested decision should have been confined to examining the request for approval of the restructuring aid and should not relate to obligations concerning the rescue aid, which already ensued from the decision of 16 December 2003. 173 It must be pointed out that, in their applications, Applicants 1 and 3 did not put forward any plea alleging that, in the contested decision, the Commission, in ruling on the rescue aid, did not keep within the limits of the initiating decision. It must therefore be noted that, in challenging the contested decision on the ground that in it the Commission did not keep within the limits of its investigation established in the initiating decision, Applicants 1 and 3 are putting forward a new plea in their replies. Consequently, since it is formulated without any explanation to justify the delay in raising it, that plea must be rejected as being out of time under Article 48(2) of the Rules of Procedure. 174 Applicant 3 also submits that Kliq Reïntegratie was not a recipient of the aid and that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had no claim on it. Moreover, when the EUR 35.75 million loan was granted, that company was no longer an undertaking for the purposes of Article 87(1) EC. 175 As regards first of all the argument that Kliq Reïntegratie was not a recipient of the aid and that the State had no claim on that company, it should be pointed out that, under Community law, if the Commission finds that aid is incompatible with the common market, it may require the Member State to recover that aid from the recipient (Joined Cases C‑328/99 and C‑399/00 Italy and SIM 2 Multimedia v Commission [2003] ECR I-4035, paragraph 65, and Case C-277/00 Germany v Commission [2004] ECR I-3925, paragraph 73), or, in other words, from the undertakings which actually benefited from it (see, to that effect, Case C‑457/00 Belgium v Commission [2003] ECR I‑6931, paragraph 55, and Case C-277/00 Germany v Commission, paragraph 75). 176 The EUR 45 million rescue aid was intended to rescue the Kliq group. The EUR 35.75 million was intended to provide the means to meet commitments under current contracts and cover the costs of Kliq Reïntegratie’s social plan. It was the latter company which actually received the EUR 35.75 million from the rescue loan granted to KG Holding. Kliq Reïntegratie was a wholly-owned subsidiary of KG Holding. The latter was therefore only an intermediary as regards the grant of the aid and Kliq Reïntegratie was the actual recipient. 177 The Commission was therefore entitled to regard Kliq Reïntegratie as the recipient of aid in the amount of EUR 35.75 million, and there is no need for the Court to examine whether the Kingdom of the Netherlands had a claim on that company. 178 As regards Applicant 3’s argument that at the time the EUR 35.75 million loan was granted Kliq Reïntegratie could no longer be considered to be an undertaking for the purposes of Article 87(1) EC, it should be noted that, according to settled case-law, the concept of an undertaking covers any entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of its legal status and the way in which it is financed (see Case C-41/90 Höfner and Elser [1991] ECR I-1979, paragraph 21, and Case C‑309/99 Wouters and Others [2002] ECR I‑1577, paragraph 46, and case-law cited). It is also settled case-law that any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a given market is an economic activity (see Wouters and Others, paragraph 47, and case-law cited). 179 Kliq Reïntegratie’s principal activity consisted in the provision of services in connection with finding employment for jobseekers, integrating people living with disabilities into the labour market, helping employers to find the right staff for specific posts and general staff placement services. In the light of the case-law cited in paragraph 178 above, Kliq Reïntegratie must be regarded as being engaged in an economic activity. 180 When the EUR 35.75 million rescue loan was granted to Kliq Reïntegratie under the loan agreement which that company concluded with KG Holding on 24 December 2003 and which was approved by the Commission in its decision of 16 December 2003, Kliq Reïntegratie had not yet gone bankrupt. According to Applicant 3, from 1 October 2003 Kliq took over some of Kliq Reïntegratie’s contracts at the market price, new management was appointed, costs were reduced and some of Kliq Reïntegratie’s employees (500 of the 1 450 employees) were taken on by Kliq. Applicant 3 adds that a social plan and, in particular, a redundancy plan were implemented for those staff members who were not taken on by Kliq. 181 On 1 October 2003, Kliq Reïntegratie was still responsible for those contracts that had not been taken over by Kliq, and had 950 employees. The financial means were not available for the social plan until after the loan agreement was concluded on 24 December 2003. Lastly, Kliq Reïntegratie did not go bankrupt until 9 February 2005, 16 months after some of the contracts were taken over by Kliq. Those facts show that, when the EUR 35.75 million rescue loan was granted to it under the loan agreement it had concluded with KG Holding on 24 December 2003, Kliq Reïntegratie was still engaged in an economic activity and could be described as an undertaking receiving rescue aid. 182 The arguments put forward by Applicants 1 and 3 cannot therefore be accepted. The consequences of the bankruptcy for the recovery of State aid (Articles 2 and 3 of the contested decision) Arguments of the parties 183 The applicants claim that the Commission decided, in paragraphs 43 to 46 and Article 2 of the contested decision, in breach of Articles 87 EC and 88 EC, that the Kingdom of the Netherlands should recover the EUR 9.25 million in aid from KG Holding and Kliq. The Commission was also wrong in deciding, in paragraphs 47 to 50 and Article 3 of the contested decision, that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had, in order to recover the EUR 35.75 million aid from KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie, to register its claim on those companies in the bankruptcy proceedings. As a result of the bankruptcy of KG Holding, Kliq Reïntegratie and Kliq, recovery of the aid had become impossible and pointless, inasmuch as recovery of those sums by means of registering the claim in the bankruptcy proceedings was no longer necessary and was redundant as regards putting an end to the distortion of competition. 184 According to settled case-law, the purpose of a decision requiring recovery of aid is to restore effective competition, that is to say, to restore the situation to what it was before the grant of the incompatible aid. That purpose is achieved where the amount of the unlawfully granted aid, plus default interest, is reimbursed by the recipient, since the latter will thus lose the market advantage which it enjoys in relation to its competitors and, hence, the situation on the market before the aid was paid will be restored. If the recipient undertakings are no longer active on that market, recovery of the amount of aid from the assets of the bankrupt company is not necessary. 185 The applicants accept that, according to Case C-277/00 Germany v Commission, paragraph 175 above, paragraph 85, aid must be recovered by means of registering the claim against the bankrupt’s assets. However, that judgment makes reference to Case 52/84 Commission v Belgium [1986] ECR 89 and Case C‑142/87 Belgium v Commission [1990] ECR I‑959, cases in which the recipient undertaking was not bankrupt at the date of the contested decision and was therefore still potentially active on the market. Those cases should therefore be distinguished from the present case, in which the recipient undertakings were no longer active on the market as a result of their bankruptcy. 186 In their replies, the applicants observe that, where an undertaking has ceased its activities completely and definitively, has been declared bankrupt and is in liquidation, as is the case of KG Holding, it is self-evident that its competitors can no longer be disadvantaged. The recipient undertaking has in fact disappeared from the market and from the economic point of view no longer exists. 187 The applicants refer to the Commission decisions of 30 October 2002 on the State aid granted by Italy to Industrie Navali Meccaniche Affini SpA (INMA) (OJ 2003 L 22, p. 36) and of 7 May 2004 on the State aid granted by Germany to Fairchild Dornier GmbH (Dornier) (OJ 2004 L 357, p. 36). The Commission decided in those decisions not to recover the aid since the recipient undertaking had ceased to engage in economic activity. 188 The applicants stress that they are not challenging the settled case-law recalled in Case T‑324/00 CDA Datenträger Albrechts v Commission [2005] ECR II‑4309. In that case, the recipient undertaking had not yet been declared bankrupt when the Commission adopted its decision. In Case C-277/00 Germany v Commission, paragraph 175 above, the economic activities of the undertaking concerned had, following the bankruptcy, been transferred to its wholly-owned subsidiary, over which it exercised control. 189 The Commission disputes the arguments put forward by the applicants. Findings of the Court 190 The applicants dispute, in essence, the lawfulness of the recovery order contained in Article 2(1) and Article 3 of the contested decision on account of the bankruptcy proceedings and the cessation of their economic activities. 191 With regard, first of all, to the bankruptcy proceedings, it should be noted that the bankruptcies of KG Holding, Kliq Reïntegratie and Kliq were declared on 8 and 9 February and 14 December 2005, respectively, thus prior to the adoption of the contested decision on 19 July 2006. 192 In that regard, according to the case-law concerning undertakings in receipt of aid which have become insolvent, restoration of the previous situation and removal of the distortion of competition resulting from aid unlawfully paid may, in principle, be achieved by registration as one of the liabilities of the undertaking in liquidation of an obligation relating to repayment of the aid concerned, except in so far as that aid has benefited another undertaking (see CDA Datenträger Albrechts v Commission, paragraph 188 above, paragraph 101, and case-law cited). 193 According to that case-law, the mere fact that the undertaking has gone bankrupt does not therefore call into question the principle that unlawful aid must be recovered (see also, to that effect, Italy and SIM 2 Multimedia v Commission, paragraph 175 above, paragraphs 53 to 55). 194 Secondly, as regards cessation of the economic activities of the undertakings concerned, the legality of a decision concerning State aid is to be assessed in the light of the information available to the Commission when the decision was adopted (Case C‑277/00 Germany v Commission, paragraph 175 above, paragraph 39), that is to say, on 19 July 2006 in this case. 195 It should be noted that the applicants did not submit any observations to the Commission during the administrative procedure. However, the applicants’ arguments are not inadmissible merely because they were not raised during the administrative procedure. The right of a person to bring proceedings cannot be restricted simply because, although that person could, in the course of the administrative procedure, have submitted observations on an assessment communicated when the Article 88(2) EC procedure was opened and then repeated in the contested decision, he did not do so (Case T-380/94 AIUFFASS and AKT v Commission [1996] ECR II-2169, paragraph 64, and Case T‑16/96 Cityflyer Express v Commission [1998] ECR II‑757, paragraph 39). 196 As regards the economic activities of KG Holding, it is clear from paragraphs 19 and 20 of the contested decision that the Netherlands authorities sent two letters to the Commission in September 2005 and in February 2006 to inform it of the progress of KG Holding’s bankruptcy proceedings. As regards Kliq, it is clear from paragraph 20 of the contested decision that the Netherlands authorities sent a letter to the Commission in January 2006 informing it of Kliq’s bankruptcy as of 14 December 2005 and the ensuing proceedings. It is not apparent from the documents in the case that the Commission received other information concerning the economic activities of KG Holding and Kliq after they were declared bankrupt. The Commission cannot therefore be criticised for concluding, when the contested decision was adopted, that the bankruptcy proceedings had not yet terminated and that the undertakings concerned had not yet ceased to exist. 197 As regards the economic activities of Kliq Reïntegratie, it is clear from paragraphs 19 and 20 of the contested decision that the Netherlands authorities sent two letters to the Commission in September 2005 and February 2006 to inform it of the progress of the bankruptcy proceedings in respect of Kliq Reïntegratie. It is not clear from the documents in the case that the Commission received other information concerning the economic activities of Kliq Reïntegratie after it was declared bankrupt. It follows from paragraphs 178 to 181 above that, despite the fact that Kliq took over some of the contracts of Kliq Reïntegratie from 1 October 2003, the latter was still engaged in economic activity at the time the EUR 35.75 million loan agreement was concluded in December 2003. That undertaking did not go bankrupt until 9 February 2005, 16 months after some of its contracts were taken over by Kliq. The Commission was aware that, under the restructuring plan, Kliq Reïntegratie was to cease its activities. That fact does not mean, however, that the undertaking had already ceased its activities on 19 July 2006. 198 It does not appear from the documents in the case that the information supplied by the Netherlands authorities in that regard was so fragmentary that the Commission should have requested the Kingdom of the Netherlands to provide it with additional information concerning the economic situation of the undertakings concerned (see, to that effect, Joined Cases C‑324/90 and C‑342/90 Germany and Pleuger Worthington v Commission [1994] ECR I‑1173, paragraph 29). The Commission was therefore entitled to consider that the mere fact that the undertakings concerned had gone bankrupt did not mean that they no longer existed. 199 Moreover, contrary to what the applicants assert, it is not apparent from the documents in the case that, when the contested decision was adopted, the undertakings concerned had ceased their economic activities completely and definitively. 200 With regard to the applicants’ argument that recovery of the aid in question is impossible, it should be observed, on the one hand, that the mere fact that the undertakings in receipt of aid have gone bankrupt does not mean that recovery of the aid has become impossible and, on the other hand, that the Member State concerned may register its claim as one of those undertakings’ liabilities. Furthermore, it should be added that any procedural or other difficulties in regard to the implementation of the contested measure cannot affect its lawfulness (see, to that effect, Case C‑142/87 Belgium v Commission, paragraph 185 above, paragraphs 62 and 63, and Case C‑214/07 Commission v France [2008] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 46). In the event of difficulties, the Commission and the Member State concerned must respect the principle underlying Article 10 EC, which imposes a duty of genuine cooperation on the Member States and the Community institutions, and must work together in good faith with a view to overcoming difficulties whilst fully observing the Treaty provisions, and in particular the provisions on State aid (see Case C‑415/03 Commission v Greece [2005] ECR I‑3875, paragraph 42, and case-law cited). 201 The applicants referred to the earlier Commission decisions of 30 October 2002 and 7 May 2004 to demonstrate the unlawfulness of the contested decision. In that regard, suffice it to say that each case of State aid must be assessed separately by the Court of First Instance. The decisions cited by the applicants, which concern specific cases and have no connection with the present decision, are therefore not relevant in this case. 202 The applicants’ arguments must therefore be rejected. 203 In the light of all the above considerations, Article 2 of the contested decision must be annulled and the remainder of the applications dismissed. Costs 204 Under Article 87(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs, if they have been applied for in the successful party’s pleadings. However, where there are several unsuccessful parties, the Court of First Instance is to decide how the costs are to be shared. Under Article 87(3) of the Rules of Procedure, where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, the Court of First Instance may order that the costs be shared or that each party bear its own costs. 205 It follows from the foregoing that a fair application of those provisions would be to order that, since Applicant 1 and Applicant 2 have each been partially unsuccessful in their pleadings, Applicant 1 will bear his own costs in Case T‑81/07 and Applicant 2 will bear their own costs in Case T‑82/07. Since Applicant 3 has been unsuccessful in all his pleadings, he must be ordered to pay, in addition to his own costs in Case T‑83/07, those incurred by the Commission in Case T‑83/07. The Commission must bear its own costs in Cases T‑81/07 and T‑82/07. On those grounds, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Eighth Chamber) hereby: 1. Annuls Article 2 of Commission Decision 2006/939/EC of 19 July 2006 on the aid measure notified by the Kingdom of the Netherlands for KG Holding NV; 2. Dismisses the remainder of the applications; 3. Orders Jan Rudolf Maas, in his capacity as administrator in the bankruptcy proceedings relating to KG Holding NV, to bear his own costs in Case T‑81/07; 4. Orders Jan Rudolf Maas and Cornelis van den Bergh, in their capacity as administrators in the bankruptcy proceedings relating to Kliq BV, to bear their own costs in Case T‑82/07; 5. Orders Jean Leon Marcel Groenewegen, in his capacity as administrator in the bankruptcy proceedings relating to Kliq Reïntegratie, to bear, in addition to his own costs in Case T‑83/07, those incurred by the Commission in Case T‑83/07; 6. Orders the Commission to bear its own costs in Cases T‑81/07 and T‑82/07. Papasavvas Wahl Dittrich Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 1 July 2009. [Signatures] Table of contents Background to the dispute 1. General background 2. Administrative procedure 3. Contested decision Procedure and forms of order sought by the parties Law 1. Preliminary observations 2. Admissibility of the actions in Cases T‑81/07 and T‑83/07 as regards the EUR 17 million credit facility granted to KG Holding by the Kingdom of the Netherlands Arguments of the parties Findings of the Court 3. Substance Incompatibility with the common market of the restructuring aid notified amounting to EUR 45 million (Article 1 of the contested decision) Arguments of the parties Findings of the Court Recovery from KG Holding and Kliq of the EUR 9.25 million rescue loan, plus related interest up until the date of its recovery (Article 2 of the contested decision) Arguments of the parties Findings of the Court Registration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ EUR 35.75 million claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings with the administrator (Article 3 of the contested decision) The statement of reasons of the contested decision – Arguments of the parties – Findings of the Court The requirement to register the State’s EUR 35.75 million claim on KG Holding and/or Kliq Reïntegratie in the bankruptcy proceedings – Arguments of the parties – Findings of the Court The consequences of the bankruptcy for the recovery of State aid (Articles 2 and 3 of the contested decision) Arguments of the parties Findings of the Court Costs * Language of the case: Dutch.