Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2008:259
Date: 2008-05-08
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Concepts: Appeals;Formal investigation procedure
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded;Appeal - inadmissible
Origin: Italy

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 8 May 2008 – Ferriere Nord v Commission (Case C-49/05 P) Appeal – State aid – Formal examination procedure – Community framework for State aid for environmental protection – Rights of the parties – Invitation to submit observations – Article 88(2) EC – Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 – Legitimate expectations – Legal certainty – Environmental purpose of the investment 1. State aid – Planned aid – Examination by the Commission – Requirement to act within a reasonable time (Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 7(6)) (see paras 48-50) 2. State aid – Administrative procedure – Right of the parties concerned to submit their comments – Amendment during the procedure of the applicable Community guidelines (Art. 88(2) EC) (see paras 68, 78, 81) 3. Appeals – Grounds – Plea unsupported by legal argument – Inadmissible (Art. 225 EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 112(1)(c)) (see para. 99) 4. Appeals – Grounds – Mistaken assessment of the facts – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of Justice of the assessment of the evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 225(1) EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see para. 127) Re: Appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 18 November 2004 in Case T‑176/01 Ferriere Nord v Commission , dismissing an action for, first, the annulment of Commission Decision 2001/829/EC, ECSC of 28 March 2001 on the State aid which Italy is planning to grant to Ferriere Nord SpA (OJ 2001 L 310, p. 22), declaring incompatible with the common market aid notified as environmental aid which the autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) is planning to grant to the applicant in the form of a financial contribution to investments in new plant for the production of electrowelded wire mesh to reduce noise and eliminate waste in the form of iron oxide, and, secondly, compensation for the harm allegedly suffered by the applicant following adoption of that decision. Operative part: The Court 1. Dismisses the appeal; 2. Orders Ferriere Nord SpA to pay the costs; 3. Orders the Italian Republic to bear its own costs.