Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2022:245
Date: 2022-04-27
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Slovenia

Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 27 April 2022 – Flašker v Commission (Case T‑392/20) (1) (State aid – Measures granted by Slovenia to a municipal network of dispensing pharmacies – Preliminary examination phase – Decision of the Commission finding no State aid and, possibly, that there is existing aid – Decision adopted without initiating the formal investigation procedure under Article 108(2) TFEU – Serious difficulties) 1. State aid – Examination of complaints – Obligations of the Commission – Preliminary examination phase – Obligation of the Commission to conduct inquiries – Scope (Art. 108(3) TFEU; Council Regulation No 2015/1589, Art. 12(1)) (see para. 30) 2. State aid – Examination of complaints – Obligations of the Commission – Preliminary examination phase – Obligation to close that phase by way of decision – Scope – Decision establishing whether the measure at issue constitutes existing aid – Decision including an implicit refusal to open the formal procedure – Judicial review – Limits (Art. 108(1) and (2) TFEU; Council Regulation No 2015/1589, Arts 4(2) to (4) and 15(1)) (see paras 31-34) 3. State aid – Planned aid – Examination by the Commission – Preliminary review and main review – Compatibility of aid with the internal market – Difficulties of assessment – Commission’s duty to initiate the main review procedure – Serious difficulties – Concept – Objective nature – Circumstances enabling the existence of such difficulties to be established – Judicial review – Scope (Arts 107 and 108(2) and (3) TFEU; Council Regulation No 2015/1589, Art. 4(3) and (4)) (see paras 35, 36, 43, 47-56) 4. State aid – Commission decision – Assessment of the legality by reference to the information available at the time of adoption of the decision – No possibility for an applicant who has participated in the preliminary examination procedure to rely on elements of fact not submitted during that procedure in support of his or her action (Art. 108 TFEU) (see paras 42, 44) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls Commission Decision C(2020) 1724 final of 24 March 2020 closing the examination of measures concerning the public pharmacy Lekarna Ljubljana in the light of the State aid rules in Articles 107 and 108 TFEU (Case SA.43546 (2016/FC) – Slovenia) in so far as it concerns the assets under management of Lekarna Ljubljana; 2. Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those of Petra Flašker; 3. Orders the Republic of Slovenia to bear its own costs. 1 OJ C 297, 7.9.2020.