Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 6 May 2019 –

Scor v Commission

(Case T‑135/17)

(State aid — Market for reinsuring the risks of natural disaster — Aid in the form of an unlimited state guarantee granted to the CCR — Decision declaring the aid to be compatible with the internal market at the end of the preliminary examination procedure — Article 107(3)(c), TFUE — Action for annulment — Locus standi — No substantial effect on the competitive position — Partial inadmissibility — Procedural rights of the interested parties — Interested party — No serious difficulties)

1. Action for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Commission decision declaring State aid to be compatible with the common market without initiating the formal investigation procedure — Action brought by the parties concerned within the meaning of the Article 108(2) TFUE — Admissibility — Conditions (Arts 108(2) and 263, fourth para. TFEU; Council Regulation 2015/1589, Art. 1(h)) (see paras 40-42, 69-73)

2. Action for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Commission decision declaring State aid to be compatible with the common market without initiating the formal investigation procedure — Action challenging the justification of that decision — Action by an undertaking not demonstrating that its market position was substantially affected — Inadmissibility (Arts 108(2) and 263, fourth para. TFEU) (see paras 43, 44, 56-68, 75)

3. Action for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Commission decision finding State aid compatible with the internal market without opening the formal investigation procedure — Action brought by the parties concerned within the meaning of the Article 108(2) TFUE — Action designed to safeguard the procedural rights of the persons concerned — Admissibility — Pleas capable of being invoked (Arts 108(2) and 263, fourth para. TFEU; Council Regulation 2015/1589, Art. 1(h)) (see paras 76, 77)

4. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Commission decision on State aid — Decision not to open the formal investigation procedure — Need to state the reasons why the Commission considers that it faces no serious difficulties in assessing the compatibility of the aid with the internal market — No requirement for a specific statement of reasons for each element raised by the persons concerned (Arts 107(1), 108(2) and 296 TFEU) (see paras 79-95)

5. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Preliminary review and main review — Commission's duty to initiate the main review procedure –Meaning — Serious difficulties — Objective nature — Duration of the preliminary investigation alone incapable of evidencing such difficulties (Arts 107 and 108(2) and (3) TFEU; Council Regulation 2015/1589, Art. 4) (see paras 105-112)

6. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Preliminary review and main review — Commission’s duty to initiate the main review procedure in the event of serious difficulties — Circumstances enabling the existence of such difficulties to be determined — No indica found in the content of the contested decision (Arts 107 and 108(2) and (3) TFEU) (see paras 120-142)

Re:

Application based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of Commission Decision C(2016) 5995 final of 26 September 2016, concerning measures SA.37649 and SA.45860 implemented by France, in so far as the Commission declared the unlimited guarantee granted to the CCR for its business of reinsuring the risks of natural disaster to be compatible with the internal market.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Scor SE to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission and Caisse centrale de réassurance (CCR), including those incurred in connection with the request for confidential treatment;