Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope - Commission decision on State aid

(EC Treaty, Arts 92(1) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(1) EC) and 190 (now Art. 253 EC))

2. Community law - Interpretation - Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - To be taken into account

3. State aid - Planned aid - Implemented before the Commission's final decision - Commission decision ordering recovery of the aid - Obligation to state reasons - Scope

(EC Treaty, Art. 93(3) (now Art. 88(3) EC))

4. State aid - Definition - Assessment according to the criterion of normal market conditions

(EC Treaty, Art. 92 (now, after amendment, Art. 87 EC))

5. State aid - Definition - Guarantee granted by the State - Covered - Absence of a direct and clear mobilisation of State resources - No effect

(EC Treaty, Art. 92 (now, after amendment, Art. 87 EC))

6. State aid - Commission decision finding unnotified aid to be incompatible with the common market - Obligation to state reasons - Scope

(EC Treaty, Arts 92 (now, after amendment, Art. 87 EC), 93(3) and 190 (now Arts 88(3) EC and 253 EC))

7. State aid - Prohibition - Exemptions - Aid which can be regarded as compatible with the common market - Commission's discretion - Review by the Court - Limits

(EC Treaty, Art. 92(3) (now, after amendment, Art. 87(3) EC))

8. State aid - Prohibition - Exemptions - Aid which can be regarded as compatible with the common market - Aid for rescuing a firm in difficulty - Conditions - Loan guarantee bearing a normal market interest rate

9. Competition - Public undertakings - Equal treatment of public and private undertakings - Rules governing public ownership - No effect

(EC Treaty, Arts 90(1) and 222 (now Arts 86(1) and 295 EC))

10. Competition - Public undertakings and undertakings to whom Member States grant special or exclusive rights - System of derogation - Conditions

(EC Treaty, Art. 90(2) (now Art. 86(2) EC))

Summary

1. The Community institutions' obligation under Article 190 of the Treaty (now Article 253 EC) to state the reasons on which a decision is based is intended to enable the Community judicature to exercise its power to review the legality of the decision and the person concerned to know the reasons for the measure adopted so that he can defend his rights and ascertain whether or not the decision is well founded. Furthermore, in stating the reasons for the decisions it has to take in order to ensure that the rules of competition are applied, the Commission is not obliged to adopt a position on all the arguments relied on by the parties concerned and it is sufficient if it sets out the facts and the legal considerations having decisive importance in the context of the decision. With regard to the characterisation of a measure as aid, that principle requires that the reasons which led the Commission to consider that the measure concerned falls within the scope of Article 92(1) of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87(1) EC) should be stated.

( see paras 34-36 )

2. The operative part of an act is indissociably linked to the statement of reasons for it, so that, when it has to be interpreted, account must be taken of the reasons which led to its adoption.

( see para. 39 )

3. Where, contrary to the provisions of Article 93(3) of the Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC), the proposed aid has already been granted, the Commission, which has the power to require the national authorities to order its repayment, is not obliged to provide specific reasons in order to justify the exercise of that power.

( see para. 53 )

4. The concept of aid embraces not only positive benefits, such as subsidies themselves, but also interventions which, in various forms, mitigate the charges which are normally included in the budget of an undertaking and which, without therefore being subsidies in the strict meaning of the word, are similar in character and have the same effect. In determining whether a State measure constitutes aid, it is necessary to establish whether the recipient undertaking receives an economic advantage which it would not have obtained under normal market conditions.

( see paras 65-66 )

5. The grant of a guarantee by the State to an undertaking cannot avoid the prohibition in Article 92 of the Treaty merely because that advantage was not conferred on the beneficiary undertaking by way of a direct and clear mobilisation of State resources.

( see para. 81 )

6. The Commission is not required to carry out an extremely detailed economic analysis supported by statistics of the effect of the State aid on intra-community trade and competition. Moreover, in the case of aid which has not been notified to the Commission, the decision finding that such aid is incompatible with the common market does not have to be based on a demonstration of the real effect of that aid on competition or on trade between Member States. To decide otherwise would ultimately be to favour those Member States which grant aid in breach of the duty to notify laid down in Article 93(3) of the Treaty (now Article 88(3) EC), to the detriment of those which do notify aid at the planning stage.

( see para. 85 )

7. Under Article 92(3) of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 87(3) EC), the Commission enjoys a wide discretion, the exercise of which involves assessments of an economic and social nature which must be made within a Community context. The Court must therefore limit its review of such an assessment to ascertaining that the rules of procedure have been complied with, that the reasoning is sufficient, the facts are correct, and that there is no manifest error of assessment or misuse of power.

( see para. 97 )

8. With regard to the first condition, concerning the interest rate defined by the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty, the objective pursued by the Commission in authorising such rescue aid is to contribute to economic development without affecting trade to an extent contrary to the Community interest. From that point of view, charging interest at a rate more favourable than that available on the market is no more acceptable in the case of a loan obtained by virtue of a State guarantee than it is where aid consists of the loan itself.

( see para. 107 )

9. Article 222 of the Treaty (now Article 295 EC) does not contravene the principle that, under Article 90(1) of the Treaty, the competition rules apply without distinction to private and public undertakings.

( see para. 122 )

10. It is clear from Article 90(2) of the Treaty (now Article 86(2) EC) that, for the derogation provided for in that provision to apply, the undertaking in question must have been entrusted by the public authorities with the operation of a service of general economic interest, the application of the rules of the Treaty must obstruct the performance of the particular tasks assigned to the undertaking and, finally, the interests of the Community must not be affected. In that connection, undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest must have been assigned that task by an act of a public authority.

( see paras 125-126 )