Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 24 January 2013 — 3F v Commission

(Case C-646/11 P)

‛Appeal — State aid — Tax-reduction measures — Seafarers working on board vessels registered in the Danish International Register — Article 88(3) EC — Preliminary examination stage — Commission decision not to raise objections — Action for annulment — Conditions for initiating the formal investigation procedure — Existence of doubts regarding the compatibility of the aid with the common market — Period for the examination’

1. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Preliminary review and main review — Compatibility of the aid with the common market — Serious difficulties such as to give rise to doubts — Commission’s duty to initiate the main review procedure — Burden and extent of proof in the case of an action for the annulment of a decision not to raise objections — Duration of the preliminary procedure unable to show the existence of those difficulties (Arts 87(1) EC and 88(2) and (3) EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Arts 4(3) and (4) and 6(1)) (see paras 24-28, 30-32, 47, 54)

2. Appeals — Grounds — Plea unsupported by legal argument — Mere repetition of the pleas and arguments put forward before the General Court — Error of law relied on not identified — Inadmissibility (Art. 256(1) 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 51, 52, 73)

3. Appeals — Grounds — Inadequate or contradictory grounds — Scope of the obligation to state reasons — Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning — Lawfulness — Conditions (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para,; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 81) (see paras 63, 64, 70)

4. Appeals — Grounds — Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 170(1)) (see para. 71)

Re:

Appeal against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 27 September 2011 in Case T-30/03 RENV 3F v Commission by which the General Court dismissed the application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2002) 4370 final of 13 November 2002 finding the tax-reduction measures applicable to seafarers on board Danish vessels to be State aid compatible with the common market (Case C-319/07 P referred back after successful appeal).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;

2. Orders Falles Fagligt Forbund (3F) to pay the costs;

3. Orders the Kingdom of Denmark to bear its own costs.

Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 24 January 2013 — 3F v Commission

(Case C-646/11 P)

‛Appeal — State aid — Tax-reduction measures — Seafarers working on board vessels registered in the Danish International Register — Article 88(3) EC — Preliminary examination stage — Commission decision not to raise objections — Action for annulment — Conditions for initiating the formal investigation procedure — Existence of doubts regarding the compatibility of the aid with the common market — Period for the examination’

1. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Preliminary review and main review — Compatibility of the aid with the common market — Serious difficulties such as to give rise to doubts — Commission’s duty to initiate the main review procedure — Burden and extent of proof in the case of an action for the annulment of a decision not to raise objections — Duration of the preliminary procedure unable to show the existence of those difficulties (Arts 87(1) EC and 88(2) and (3) EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Arts 4(3) and (4) and 6(1)) (see paras 24-28, 30-32, 47, 54)

2. Appeals — Grounds — Plea unsupported by legal argument — Mere repetition of the pleas and arguments put forward before the General Court — Error of law relied on not identified — Inadmissibility (Art. 256(1) 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 51, 52, 73)

3. Appeals — Grounds — Inadequate or contradictory grounds — Scope of the obligation to state reasons — Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning — Lawfulness — Conditions (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para,; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 81) (see paras 63, 64, 70)

4. Appeals — Grounds — Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 170(1)) (see para. 71)

Re:

Appeal against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 27 September 2011 in Case T-30/03 RENV 3F v Commission by which the General Court dismissed the application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2002) 4370 final of 13 November 2002 finding the tax-reduction measures applicable to seafarers on board Danish vessels to be State aid compatible with the common market (Case C-319/07 P referred back after successful appeal).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;

2. Orders Falles Fagligt Forbund (3F) to pay the costs;