Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 July 2011 – Territorio Histórico de Vizcaya – Diputación Foral de Vizcaya and Others v Commission

(Joined Cases C-474/09 P to C-476/09 P)

Appeal – State aid – Actions for annulment – Decisions of the Commission concerning the State aid schemes implemented by Spain in favour of undertakings in the provinces of Vizcaya, Álava and Guipúzcoa – Reductions in the tax base for certain newly-created undertakings – Legitimate expectations – Principles of legal certainty and sound administration – Compliance with a reasonable time-limit – Lack of notification

1. Appeals – Grounds – Challenge, repeating the pleas in law and arguments raised before the General Court, to the latter’s interpretation or application of Union law – Admissibility (Art. 256(1), second para, TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see paras 57-58, 60)

2. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the procedural rules under Article 88 EC – Legitimate expectations entertained by the recipients – Protection – Conditions and limits – No action taken by the Commission for a relatively long time – No legitimate expectations (Arts 87 EC and 88 EC) (see paras 66-67, 70, 76-78)

3. Procedure – Measures of organisation of procedure – Request for production of documents – Duties of person making the request (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 64(3)(d) and (4)) (see paras 89, 92)

4. Appeals – Grounds – Review by the Court of Justice of the General Court’s refusal to order measures of inquiry – Extent (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 66(1)) (see para. 93)

5. Procedure – Intervention – Application seeking to support the form of order sought by one of the parties – Application containing specific grounds of challenge but not altering the framework of the action – Admissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 40, fourth para.) (see paras 109-111)

6. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the procedural rules under Article 88 EC – No action taken by the Commission, for want of enough information available to it, for a relatively long time – No breach of the principles of legal certainty and of good administration – (Arts 87 EC and 88 EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 14(1)) (see paras 116-117, 119-120, 124-125)

Re:

Appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber, extended composition) of 9 September 2009 in Joined Cases T‑230/01 to T‑232/01 and T‑267/01 to T‑269/01 Diputación Foral de Álava and Gobierno Vasco and Others v Commission , by which that court dismissed, in Cases T‑230/01 and T‑267/01 an application for annulment of Commission Decision 2002/892/EC of 11 July 2001 on the State aid scheme applied by Spain to certain newly established firms in Álava (OJ 2002 L 314, p. 1), in Cases T‑231/01 and T‑268/01 an application for annulment of Commission Decision 2002/806/EC of 11 July 2001 on the State aid scheme applied by Spain to certain newly established firms in Vizcaya (OJ 2002 L 279, p. 35), and in Cases T‑232/01 and T‑269/01, an application for annulment of Commission Decision 2002/540/EC of 11 July 2001 on the State aid scheme applied by Spain to certain newly established firms in Guipúzcoa (OJ 2002 L 174, p. 31).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the main appeals and the cross-appeals;

2. Orders Territorio Histórico de Vizcaya – Diputación Foral de Vizcaya, Territorio Histórico de Álava – Diputación Foral de Álava, Territorio Histórico de Guipúzcoa – Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa, Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Vizcaya, Cámara Oficial de Comercio e Industria de Álava, Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Guipúzcoa each to pay an equal share of the costs of the present appeals;