62020TJ0513_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 29 November 2023 – Asempre v Commission
(Case T‑513/20) (
1
)
(Action for annulment – State aid – Postal service – Compensation for universal postal service – Professional association – Lack of individual concern – No substantial effect on the competitive position – Inadmissibility)
1.
Judicial proceedings – Production of evidence – Time limit – Late submission of evidence and offers of evidence – Exceptional circumstances justifying late submission – Late submission of evidence consisting of a decision taken by a national authority after the closure of the written phase of the procedure – Whether permissible
(Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 85(3))
(see paragraphs 18-20)
2.
Action for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Individual concern – Criteria – Commission decision finding aid compatible with the internal market – Action by an association acting in the collective interests of its members – No substantial effect on the competitive position of those members – Inadmissibility of the association’s action
(Arts 108(2) and 263, fourth para., TFEU)
(see paragraphs 23-67)
3.
Action for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Individual concern – Criteria – Commission decision finding aid compatible with the internal market – Action brought by an association claiming that its own interests are affected – Active role played by that association during the procedure leading to the adoption of the contested decision – Evidence not sufficient to demonstrate that those interests are substantially affected – Inadmissibility of the association’s action – No infringement of the right to effective judicial protection
(Arts 108(2) and 263, fourth para., TFEU)
(see paragraphs 71-81)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action as inadmissible;
2.
Orders the Asociación Profesional de Empresas de Reparto y Manipulado de Correspondencia (Asempre) to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission and by Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, SA.
3.
Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs.
(
1
)	OJ C 320, 28.9.2020.