Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2001:149
Date: 2001-06-07
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Fifth Chamber, Extended Composition
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Concepts: Formal investigation procedure;Commission discretion;General
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment 
1. State aid — Planned aid — Implementation before the Commission's final deci­
sion — Prohibited — Expiry of the time-limit for reflection and investigation — 
Conditions for implementation — Prior notice 
(Art. 88(2) and (3) EC) 
2. State aid — Prohibited — Derogations — Commission's discretion — Assessment 
criteria — Effect of guidelines adopted by the Commission 
(Art. 87(3) EC) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-187/99 
3. State aid — Prohibited — Derogations — Aid which may be regarded as compatible 
with the common market — Conditions 
(Art. 87(3) EC) 
1. Where the examination procedure pro­
vided for in Article 88(2) EC is initi­
ated, the prohibition on putting the 
planned aid into effect laid down in 
Article 88(3) EC continues until the 
Commission adopts a decision on the 
compatibility of the planned aid with 
the common market. However, if the 
Commission has not responded within 
two months of full notification the 
Member State concerned may put the 
proposed aid into effect provided that 
it has given prior notice to the Com­
mission, and that aid will then come 
under the scheme for existing aid. 
The function of such notice is not 
merely to ensure that the planed aid is 
implemented in the manner described 
in the notification; it is designed to 
meet the requirements of legal cer­
tainty. Compliance with that obligation 
is designed to establish, in the interest 
of the parties concerned and of the 
national courts, the date from which 
the aid falls under the scheme for 
existing aid. 
(see paras 37, 39) 
2. The Community guidelines on State aid 
do not affect the scope of primary or 
secondary legislation any more than 
any other guidelines. Such measures 
reflect the Commission's desire to pub­
lish directions on the approach it 
intends to follow, in the light of its 
individual decisions in the field con­
cerned. 
(see para. 56) 
3. In order for State aid to benefit from 
one of the derogations contained in 
Article 87(3) EC, it must not only 
comply with one of the objectives set 
out in Article 87(3)(a), (b), (c) or (d) 
EC, but it must also be necessary for 
the attainment of those objectives. 
(see para. 74) 
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