Request for a preliminary ruling from the Elegktiko Synedrio (Greece) lodged on 11 May 2022 — ACHILLEION Anonymi Xenodocheiaki Etaireia v Elliniko Dimosio

(Case C-313/22)

(2022/C 311/08)

Language of the case: Greek

Referring court

Elegktiko Synedrio

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant on a point of law: ACHILLEION Anonymi Xenodocheiaki Etaireia

Respondent: Elliniko Dimosio

Questions referred

1. For the purposes of (i) Article 30(1), (3) and (4) of Regulation No 1260/1999 (1) and Rule No 1, point 1.9, of Regulation No 1685/2000, (2) (ii) Article 4(3) of Regulation No 70/2001 and (iii) Articles 38 and 39(1) of Regulation No 1260/1999, Article 4 of Regulation No 438/2001, (3) Article 2(2) of Regulation No 448/2001, (4) Article 1(2) of Regulation No 2988/1995 (5) and Article 14 of Regulation No 659/1999, (6) does the sale of the assisted undertaking, together with its fixed assets, constitute automatically such a substantial modification of the implementation conditions of the co-financed investment in that undertaking as to justify of itself national legislation, such as Article 18(5) of Joint Ministerial Decision 192249/EYS 4057 of 19 August 2002 (Ministerial Decision 9216/EYS 916 of 12-18 February 2004), which enacts an absolute long-term prohibition on the transfer of the fixed assets of the subsidised undertaking, on pain of total or partial revocation of the decision granting the aid and repayment of all or part of the public grant paid?

2. Are (i) Article 30(4) of Regulation No 1260/1999; (ii) Article 4(3) of Regulation No 70/2001 (7) and point 4.12 of the Guidelines on national regional aid concerning the principle of the durability of small and medium-sized enterprises in receipt of aid and (iii) Articles 38 and 39 of Regulation No 1260/1999, Article 2(2) of Regulation No 448/2001, Articles 1(2), 2 and 4 of Regulation No 2988/1995 and Article 14 of Regulation No 659/1999 to be understood as meaning that the sale of the fixed assets and of the assisted undertaking itself, further to an internal shareholders’ agreement intended to ensure its viability, does not give rise to a substantial modification to the co-financing operation or to an undue advantage for any of the contracting parties and therefore constitutes neither an irregularity nor a reason to recover the aid, provided that the conditions for the carrying out of the investment are not modified and the transfer falls under a legal regime under which the transferor and the transferee are jointly and severally liable for the debts and for the liabilities that exist at the time of the transfer?

3. Do Articles 17, 52 and 53 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the principle of legal certainty, interpreted in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No 1 to the ECHR, require a fair balance to be struck between financial correction measures and measures for the recovery of aid in accordance with Articles 38[(1)](h) and 39(1) of Regulation No 1260/1999, Article 2(2) of Regulation No 448/2001, Article 4 of Regulation No 2988/1995 and Article 14 of Regulation No 659/1999 and the right to the protection of ‘property’ of the recipient of the aid, resulting in partial or even total exemption of the recipient, even where it is found that the transfer gave rise to a substantial modification to the assisted operation or an undue advantage?

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (OJ 1999 L 161, p. 1).

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 of 28 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards eligibility of expenditure of operations co-financed by the Structural Funds (OJ 2000 L 193, p. 39).

(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 438/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the management and control systems for assistance granted under the Structural Funds (OJ 2001 L 63, p. 21).

(4) Commission Regulation (EC) No 448/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the procedure for making financial corrections to assistance granted under the Structural Funds (OJ 2001 L 64, p. 13).

(5) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ 1995 L 312, p. 1).

(6) Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (OJ 1999 L 83, p. 1).

(7) Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ 2001 L 10, p. 33).