Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:292
Date: 2004-05-06
Language of the case: Spanish
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded;Appeal - inadmissible
Origin: Spain

Summary of the Judgment 1. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the rules on the implementation of Article 93 of the Treaty (now Article 88 EC) – Possible legitimate expectation on the part of recipients – Protection – Conditions and limits (EC Treaty, Art. 93(3) (now Art. 88(3) EC)) 2. Appeal – Grounds of appeal – Plea in law submitted for the first time in the appeal – Inadmissible (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58) 1. In view of the mandatory nature of the review of State aid by the Commission under Article 93 of the Treaty (now Article 88 EC), undertakings to which aid has been granted may not, in principle, entertain a legitimate expectation that the aid is lawful unless it has been granted in compliance with the procedure laid down in that article and a diligent businessman should normally be able to determine whether that procedure has been followed. In particular, where aid is paid without prior notification to the Commission, so that it is unlawful under Article 93(3) of the Treaty, the recipient of the aid cannot have at that time a legitimate expectation that its grant is lawful. (see paras 44-45) 2. To allow a party to put forward for the first time before the Court of Justice a plea in law which it has not raised before the Court of First Instance would be to allow it to bring before the Court, whose jurisdiction in appeals is limited, a case of wider ambit than that which came before the Court of First Instance. In an appeal the Court’s jurisdiction is thus confined to review of the findings of law on the pleas argued before the Court of First Instance. (see para. 59)