Judgment of the Court 4 June 2002 in Case C-483/99: Commission of the European Communities v Republic of France (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Articles 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 43 EC) and 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC) — Rights attaching to the "golden share" held by the French Republic in Société Nationale Elf-Aquitaine)
Date: 2002-07-13
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, France, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, direct investment, shareholding, third country

13.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 169/3

1. Dismisses the appeal;

1. Annuls Commission Decision 2000/513/EC of 8 September

1999 on aid granted by France to Stardust Marine;

2. Dismisses the cross-appeal by the Commission;

2. Orders the Commission to pay the costs.

3. Orders Associaça˜o dos Refinadores de Açu´ car Portugueses
(ARAP), Alcântara Refinarias — Açu´cares SA and Refinarias
de Açu´car Reunidas SA (RAR) to pay the costs;

(1) OJ C 63 of 4.3.2000.

4. Orders the Portuguese Republic to pay its own costs.

(1) OJ C 352 of 4.12.1999.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

4 June 2002

in Case C-483/99: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Republic of France (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Articles 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 43 EC) and 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56
EC) — Rights attaching to the ‘golden share’ held by the
French Republic in Société Nationale Elf-Aquitaine)

(2002/C 169/05)

(Language of the case: French)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-483/99, Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: M. Patakia) v France (Agents:
initially K. Rispal-
Bellanger and S. Seam, and, subsequently, G. de Bergues and
S. Seam), supported by Kingdom of Spain (Agent: N. Dı´az
Abad) and by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (Agent: R. Magrill, assisted by J. Crow, barrister, and
D. Wyatt, QC) APPLICATION for a declaration that, by
maintaining in force Article 2(1) and (3) of Decree No 93-
1298 of 13 December 1993 vesting in the State a ‘golden
share’ in Société Nationale Elf-Aquitaine (JORF of 14 December
1993, p. 17354), according to which the following rights
attach to the ‘golden share’ held by the French Republic in that
company:

(a)

any direct or indirect shareholding by a natural or legal
person, acting alone or in conjunction with others, which
exceeds the ceiling of one tenth, one fifth or one third of
the capital of, or voting rights in, the company must
first be approved by the Minister for Economic Affairs
(Article 2(1) of the Decree);

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

16 May 2002

in Case C-482/99: French Republic v Commission of the
European Communities (1)

(State aid — Article 87(1) EC — Aid granted by the French
Republic to Stardust Marine — Decision 2000/513/EC —
State resources — Imputability to the State — Prudent
investor operating in a market economy)

(2002/C 169/04)

(Language of the case: French)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-482/99, French Republic (Agents: K. Rispal-Bellanger
and F. Million) v Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: G. Rozet and J. Flett): Application for the annulment
of Commission Decision 2000/513/EC of 8 September 1999
on aid granted by France to Stardust Marine (OJ 2000 L 206,
the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodrı´guez Iglesias,
p. 6),
President, P. Jann, F. Macken, N. Colneric and S. von Bahr
(Presidents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La
Pergola,
and
C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur), Judges; F.G. Jacobs, Advo-
cate General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has
given a judgment on 16 May 2002, in which it:

J.N. Cunha Rodrigues

Puissochet,

J.-P.

C 169/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

13.7.2002

(b)

the right to oppose any decision to transfer or use as
security the assets listed in the annex to the Decree — the
assets in question being the majority of the capital of four
subsidiaries of the parent company, namely Elf-Aquitaine
Production, Elf-Antar France, Elf-Gabon SA and Elf-
Congo SA (Article 2(3) of the Decree),

and by failing to lay down sufficiently precise and objective
criteria for approval of, or opposition to, the abovementioned
operations, the French Republic has failed to comply with its
obligations under Articles 52 (now, after amendment,
Article 43 EC) to Article 58 of the EC Treaty (now Article 48
EC) and Article 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC), the
Court, composed of: G.C. Rodrı´guez Iglesias, President, P. Jann
(Rapporteur), N. Colneric and S. von Bahr (Presidents of
Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, J.-
P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen, V. Skouris and J.N. Cunha Rodrigu-
es, Judges; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
has given a judgment on 4 June 2002, in which it:

1. Declares that, by maintaining in force Article 2(1) and (3) of
Decree No 93-1298 of 13 December 1993 vesting in the
in Société Nationale Elf-Aquitaine,
State a ‘golden share’
according to which the following rights attach to the ‘golden
share’ held by the French Republic in that company:

(a)

(b)

any direct or indirect shareholding by a natural or legal
person, acting alone or in conjunction with others, which
exceeds the ceiling of one tenth, one fifth or one third of
the capital of, or voting rights in, the company must first
be approved by the Minister for Economic Affairs;

the right to oppose any decision to transfer or use as
security the assets listed in the annex to the Decree — the
assets in question being the majority of the capital of
four subsidiaries of that company, namely Elf-Aquitaine
Production, Elf-Antar France, Elf-Gabon SA and Elf-
Congo SA,

the French Republic has failed to comply with its obligations
under Article 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC);

2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs;

3. Orders the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 79 of 18.3.2000.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

4 June 2002

in Case C-503/99: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Kingdom of Belgium (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Articles 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 43 EC) and 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56
EC) — Rights attaching to the ‘golden shares’ held by the
Kingdom of Belgium in Société nationale de transport par
canalisations SA and in Société de distribution du gaz SA)

(2002/C 169/06)

(Language of the case: French)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-503/99, Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: M. Patakia) v Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: A. Snoecx,
assisted by F. de Montpellier, M. Picat and A. Theissen),
supported by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (Agent: R. Magrill, assisted by J. Crow, barrister,
and D. Wyatt, QC): Application for a declaration that, by
maintaining in force

— the provisions of the Royal Decree of 10 June 1994
vesting in the State a ‘golden share’ in Société nationale
de transport par canalisations (Moniteur belge of 28 June
1994, p. 17333), which carries the following rights:

a)

advance notice of any transfer, use as security or
change in the intended destination of the company’s
system of lines and conduits which are used or are
capable of being used as major infrastructures for
the domestic conveyance of energy products must
be given to the Minister responsible, who shall be
entitled to oppose such operations if he considers
that they adversely affect the national interest in the
energy sector;

b)

the Minister may appoint two representatives of the
Federal Government to the board of directors of the
company. Those representatives may propose to the
Minister the annulment of any decision of the board