Case T-426/04: Action brought on 20 October 2004 by Tramarin s.n.c. di Tramarin Andrea e Sergio against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2004-12-18
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, Italy, State aid, action for annulment (EU), control of State aid, exchange of information, regional aid

C 314/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.12.2004

Action brought on 20 October 2004 by Tramarin s.n.c. di
Tramarin Andrea e Sergio against the Commission of the
European Communities

1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of
Article 93 of the EC Treaty (2);

(Case T-426/04)

(2004/C 314/60)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 20 October 2004 by Tramarin
s.n.c. di Tramarin Andrea e Sergio, represented by Michele
Arcangelo Calabrese, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the part of Commission letter D/53186, D/(00)PI D/
672, of 29 May 2000, described in the previous action;

— the procedural guarantees in favour of persons interested in

a State aid.

In particular, the applicant submits that the request to with-
draw a proposal or the part of a proposal for a State aid
scheme,
if upheld by the Member State, has the same legal
effect as a negative decision under Article 7(5) of Regulation
(EC) No 659/99, with the significant difference that, whilst a
negative decision is adopted at the end of a procedure full of
procedural guarantees for the parties concerned, the request to
withdraw, followed by the acquiescence by the Member State,
allows the Commission to adopt decisions not to raise objec-
tions which in fact have the content of negative decisions,
without however having the substantive form of negative deci-
sions. Further,
it allows the Commission to deal with those
decisions pursuant to the publication rules laid down for deci-
sions not to raise objections, thereby treating publication on its
web site as sufficient,
instead of applying the rules which
would apply to a decision to open a formal inquiry: publication
in full in the Official Journal of the European Communities, a
request to submit observations and the duty to take account of
those observations before adopting a reasoned negative deci-
sion.

— annul the decision of the Commission of 12 July 2000,
granting authorisation without raising objections to State
aid scheme No 715/99 — Italy — Measures in support of
business in depressed areas of the country;

As for the decision of 12 July 2000, it is alleged to be invalid
for the same reasons as the letter of 29 May 2000, since it is
the decision by which, if that letter is annulled, the infringe-
ments of the abovementioned guarantees take effect.

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments:

(1) OJ C 106 of 30.4.2004, p. 83.
(2) OJ L 83 of 27.3.1999, p. 1.

The applicant in the present case, in the same way as in Case
T-98/04 S.I.M.S.A. and Others v Commission (1), challenges, in
addition to the decision authorising State aid scheme No
N 715/99, also challenged in that case, the decision contained
in that part of the letter from the defendant of 29 May 2000,
in reply to a proposal put forward by the Italian authorities to
the Commission at a meeting in Brussels on 16 May 2000 that
a transitional rule intended to prevent a lack of continuity
between the preceding scheme and the new scheme be included
in the State aid scheme constituted by Italian Law No 488/92
and by its implementing provisions, because of the expectation
of initiatives taken by the category of undertakings which had
not yet submitted the application in the first notice to be insti-
tuted under the new scheme, but which had already embarked
upon an investment project, by which it requested those Italian
authorities to withdraw that proposal.

In support of its claims, the applicant alleges an infringement
of:

Action brought on 19 October 2004 by the Italian
the European
Republic

the Commission of

against

Communities

(Case T-431/04)

(2004/C 314/61)

(Language of the case: Italian)

— essential procedural requirements,

in failing to open the

formal inquiry procedure laid down by Article 88(2) EC;

— Article 4(4) and 7(5) and the second and third paragraphs
of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 19 October 2004 by the Italian
Republic,
represented by Maurizio Fiorilli, Avvocato dello
Stato.