Case T-25/04: Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 September 2007 — González y Díez v Commission (State aid — Aid to cover exceptional restructuring costs — Withdrawal of an earlier decision — Expiry of the ECSC Treaty — Competence of the Commission — Continuity of the Community legal order — No infringement of essential procedural requirements — Protection of legitimate expectations — Manifest error of assessment)
Date: 2007-10-20
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, State aid, action for annulment (EU), coal industry, control of State aid

C 247/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.10.2007

3. Orders the Italian Republic and Biraghi SpA to bear their own

costs.

Netherlands tax authority for application of the aid scheme in ques-
tion but whose request had not yet been determined by that date;

(1) OJ C 289, 29.11.2003.

2. Orders the Commission to pay all the costs.

(1) OJ C 21 of 24.1.2004.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 September
2007 — Koninklijke Friesland Foods v Commission

(Case T-348/03) (1)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 September
2007 — González y Díez v Commission

(State aid — Tax scheme of aid implemented by the
Netherlands — International financing activities of groups of
companies — Decision declaring the aid scheme to be incom-
patible with the common market — Transitional provision —
Protection of legitimate expectations — Principle of equal
in bringing
treatment — Admissibility — Legal

interest

proceedings)

(2007/C 247/35)

Language of the case: Dutch

(Case T-25/04) (1)

(State aid — Aid to cover exceptional restructuring costs —
Withdrawal of an earlier decision — Expiry of the ECSC
Treaty — Competence of the Commission — Continuity of the
Community legal order — No infringement of essential proce-
dural requirements — Protection of legitimate expectations —
Manifest error of assessment)

(2007/C 247/36)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Parties

Applicant: Koninklijke Friesland Foods NV, formerly Friesland
Coberco Dairy Foods Holding NV (Meppel, Netherlands) (repre-
sented by: E. Pijnacker Hordijk and W. Geursen, lawyers)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: H. van Vliet, V. Di Bucci and S. Noë, Agents)

Re:

Applicant: González y Díez SA,
(Villabona-Llanera, Spain),
(represented by J. Díez-Hochleitner and A. Martínez Sánchez,
lawyers),

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented initially by J. Buendía Sierra, acting as Agent, and subse-
quently by C. Urraca Caviedes, acting as Agent, the latter assisted
by Buendía Sierra, lawyer)

Action for annulment of Article 2 of Commission Decision
2003/515/EC of 17 February 2003 on the State aid imple-
mented by the Netherlands for international financing activities
(OJ 2003 L 180, p. 52) in so far as it excludes from the transi-
tional scheme those operators who, as at 11 July 2001, had
lodged a request with the Netherlands tax authority for applica-
tion of the aid scheme in question but whose request had not
yet been determined by that date.

Re:

Action for annulment of Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Commission
Decision 2004/340/EC of 5 November 2003 on aid for
González y Díez SA to cover exceptional expenses (aid for 2001
and misuse of aid for 1998 and 2000), and amending Commis-
sion Decision 2002/827/ECSC (OJ 2004 L 119, p. 26).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Annuls Article 2 of Commission Decision 2003/515/EC of
the
17 February 2003 on the State aid implemented by
Netherlands for international
financing activities in so far as it
excludes from the transitional scheme which it lays down those
operators who, as at 11 July 2001, had lodged a request with the

1. Annuls Article 3(b),

in so far as it concerns the amount of
EUR 54 057,63 (ESP 8 994 433), and Article 4(1)(b) of
Commission Decision 2004/340/EC of 5 November 2003
concerning aid to the company González y Díez SA to cover excep-
tional costs (aid for 2001 and incorrect use of the aid for 1998
and 2000), amending Decision No 2002/827/ECSC.

20.10.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 247/25

2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder.

3. Orders each party to bear its own costs.

3. Orders the applicant to bear four-fifths of its own costs and to pay
four-fifths of the costs incurred by the Commission. The Commis-
sion shall bear a fifth of its own costs and pay a fifth of the costs
incurred by González y Díez.

(1) OJ C 71, 20.3.2004.

(1) OJ C 71, 20.3.2004.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 September
2007 — API v Commission

(Case T-36/04) (1)

(Access to documents — Pleadings lodged by the Commission
in proceedings before the Court of Justice and the Court of
First Instance — Decision refusing access)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Second Chamber)
of 12 September 2007 — Finland v Commission

(Case T-230/04) (1)

(EAGGF — Guarantee section — System of control of area
excluded from
aid in certain regions — Expenditure

Community financing)

(2007/C 247/38)

Language of the case: Finnish

(2007/C 247/37)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Parties

initially by A.
Applicant: Republic of Finland (represented:
Guimaraes-Purokoski and T. Pynnä and subsequently by A.
Guimaraes-Purokoski and E. Bygglin, Agents)

Applicant: Association de la presse internationale a.s.b.l. (API)
(Brussels, Belgium) (represented by: S. Völcker, F. Louis and J.
Heithecker, avocats)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: M. Huttunen and L. Visaggio, Agents)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: C. Docksey and P. Aalto, Agents)

Re:

Re:

Application for the annulment of the Commission's decision of
20 November 2003 rejecting an application by the applicant for
access to the pleadings lodged by the Commission in proceed-
ings before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance

Operative part of the judgment

of

for

annulment

the Guarantee Section of

Application
Commission Decision
2004/136/EC of 4 February 2004 excluding from Community
financing certain expenditure incurred by the Member States
the European Agricultural
under
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (OJ 2004 L 40, p. 31)
in so far as it excludes certain expenditure incurred by the
Republic of Finland in connection with area aid in certain
regions, because of the insufficiency of the system of control
applied.

The Court:

Operative part of the judgment

1. Annuls the Commission's decision of 20 November 2003 in so far
as it refused access to the pleadings submitted by the Commission
before the Court of
Justice in Case C-466/98 Commission v
United Kingdom; Case C-467/98 Commission v Denmark; Case
C-468/98 Commission v Sweden; Case C-469/98 Commission v
Finland; Case C-471/98 Commission v Belgium; Case C-472/98
Commission v Luxembourg; Case C-475/98 Commission v
Austria and Case C-476/98 Commission v Germany and before
in Case T-342/99 Airtours v
the Court of First
Commission;

Instance

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Republic of Finland to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 146, 29.5.2004 (formerly Case C-162/04).