9

The background to the dispute is summarised as follows in paragraphs 1 to 14 of the judgment under appeal: ‘1. [Larko] is a large company specialising in the extraction and processing of laterite ore, the extraction of lignite and the production of ferronickel and its by-products. 2. It was established in 1989 as a new corporate entity following the liquidation of Hellenic Mining and Metallurgical SA. At the time of the relevant facts, it had three shareholders: the Greek State, which held 55.2% of its shares through the intermediary of Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, the National Bank of Greece SA (“NBG”), a private financial institution, which held 33.4% of its shares, and Public Power Corporation (the main electricity producer in Greece, of which the State is the majority shareholder), which held 11.4% of its shares. 3. In March 2012, Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund informed the … Commission about a programme for the privatisation of Larko. 4. In April 2012, the Commission initiated an ex-officio preliminary investigation into that privatisation, in accordance with the rules on State aid. 5. The investigation examined six measures: – the first measure concerned, first, a 1998 debt settlement agreement between Larko and its major creditors, in accordance with which the company’s liabilities to creditors were to be serviced with an interest rate of 6% per annum and, secondly, the non-collection of the debt owed to the Greek State (“measure No 1”); – the second concerned a guarantee for a loan of EUR 30 million made by ATE Bank to Larko; the guarantee was provided by the Greek State in 2008 (“measure No 2” …), covered 100% of the loan for up to three years and stipulated a guarantee premium of 1% per annum; – the third concerned a EUR 134 million increase in the share capital, proposed in 2009 by Larko’s Board of Directors and approved by the three shareholders; the Greek State participated fully and NBG participated partially (“measure No 3” …); – the fourth concerned a guarantee of indefinite duration provided by the State in 2010 to cover fully a letter of guarantee that NBG was to provide to Larko for the sum of approximately EUR 10.8 million; a guarantee premium of 2% per annum was stipulated (“measure No 4” …); the letter of guarantee guaranteed the stay of execution by the Areios Pagos (Court of Cassation, Greece) of a judgment by which the Efeteio Athinon (Court of Appeal, Athens, Greece) had recognised the existence of a debt of EUR 10.8 million owed by Larko to one of its creditors; – the fifth concerned letters of guarantee which, in accordance with a Greek administrative court decision, were to replace a compulsory pre-payment of 25% of a tax fine (“measure No 5”); – the sixth concerned two guarantees provided by the State in 2011 for two loans of EUR 30 million and EUR 20 million respectively granted by ATE Bank; the guarantees covered 100% of the loans and stipulated a premium of 1% per annum (“measure No 6” …). 6. In the course of the preliminary investigation, the Commission requested additional information from the Greek authorities, which they provided in 2012 and 2013. Meetings were also held between Commission staff and representatives of the Greek authorities. 7. By decision of 6 March 2013 (OJ 2013 C 136, p. 27 …), the Commission initiated the formal investigation procedure provided for by Article 108(2) TFEU in relation to State aid SA.34572 (13/C) (ex 13/NN). 8. In the course of the procedure provided for by Article 108(2) TFEU, the Commission invited the Greek authorities and interested third parties to submit their comments on the measures mentioned in paragraph 5 above. The Commission received comments from the Greek authorities on 30 April 2013. It received no comments from interested third parties. 9. On 27 March 2014, the Commission adopted [the decision at issue]. 10. In [the decision at issue], the Commission formed the view, as a preliminary matter, that, at the time when the six measures in question were granted, Larko had been a firm in difficulty within the meaning of the [Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring]. 11. As regards its assessment of the measures mentioned in paragraph 5 above, the Commission took the view, first of all, that measures Nos 2, 3, 4 and 6 constituted State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, next, that those measures had been granted in breach of the notification and standstill obligations laid down in Article 108(3) TFEU and, lastly, that the measures in question were aid incompatible with the internal market and must be recovered in accordance with Article 14(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article [108 TFEU] (OJ 1999 L 83, p. 1). 12. The Commission also took the view that [measures Nos 1 and 5] did not constitute State aid. 13. The operative part of [the decision at issue] reads as follows: “… Article 2 The State aid amounting to EUR 135820 824.35 in the form of State guarantees to [Larko] in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and the State’s participation to the company’s capital increase in 2009, unlawfully granted by Greece in breach of Article 108(3) [TFEU] is incompatible with the internal market. Article 3 1. Greece shall recover the incompatible aid referred to in Article 2 from the beneficiary. 2. The sums to be recovered shall bear interest from the date on which they were put at the disposal of the beneficiaries until their actual recovery. … Article 6 This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic.” 14. The annex to [the decision at issue] provides “information about the amounts of aid received, to be recovered and already recovered”, as set out below: Identity of the beneficiary — measure Total amount of aid received Total amount of aid to be recovered (Principal) Total amount already reimbursed Principal Recovery interest Larko — measure [No] 2 30 000 000 30 000 000 0 0 Larko — measure [No] 3 44 999 999.40 44 999 999.40 0 0 Larko — measure [No] 4 10 820 824.95 10 820 824.95 0 0 Larko — measure [No] 6 50 000 000 50 000 000 0 0 ’