62020CJ0656_INF
Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 24 March 2022 – Hermann Albers v Commission
(Case C‑656/20 P) (
1
)
(Appeal – State aid – Concept of ‘aid’ – Public transport of passengers – Offsetting of costs involved in the performance of public service obligations – Transfer of financial resources between public authorities – Obligation for municipal authorities that organise transport to guarantee reduced tariffs for students and apprentices – Lack of an advantage granted by the State to an undertaking – Obligation to notify)
1.
Appeal – Admissibility – Decisions against which an appeal may be brought – Decision of the General Court not to rule on a plea of inadmissibility against an action dismissed as unfounded – Not included
(Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see paras 23-25)
2.
Appeal – Grounds – Mere repetition of the pleas and arguments put forward before the General Court – Inadmissibility – Challenge to the interpretation or application of EU law made by the General Court – Admissibility
(Art. 256 TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Arts 168(1)(d) and 169(2))
(see paras 35-38)
3.
Appeal – Grounds – Plea raised for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissibility – Arguments simply constituting an amplification of a plea relied on in the application – Admissibility
(Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see para. 39)
4.
Competition – EU rules – Addressees – Undertakings – Concept – Exercise of an economic activity – Entity engaged in both economic and non-economic activities – Entity that cannot be classified as an undertaking except as regards its economic activities
(Art. 107(1) TFEU)
(see paras 41-45)
5.
Appeal – Grounds – Incorrect assessment of the facts – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted
(Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see paras 52-58)
6.
Transport – Aid for transport – Regulation No 1370/2007 – Offsetting of the costs involved in the performance of public service obligations incurred by passenger transport undertakings – Member States entitled to exclude from the scope of the regulation compensation relating to the maximum tariffs for the transport of pupils, students, apprentices and persons with reduced mobility – No obligation to notify
(Art. 108(3) TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1370/2007, Art. 3(3))
(see paras 68-71)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the appeal;
2.
Orders Hermann Albers eK to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;
3.
Orders Land Niedersachsen (Germany) to bear its own costs.
(
1
)	OJ C 44, 8.2.2021.