Case T-244/08: Action brought on 23 June 2008 — Konsum Nord v Commission
Date: 2008-06-23
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, State aid, Sweden, action for annulment (EU), real property, restriction on competition, town planning

30.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 223/51

Faced with ARCHI-MED's insolvency, the Commission seeks an
order that the defendant pay the sums due, since the contracting
parties were jointly and severally liable to perform the contract.

— the Commission incorrectly assumed that the offer made by
the competitor, Lidl, was incompatible with a number of
conditions and that it was binding and credible; and

Action brought on 23 June 2008 — Konsum Nord v
Commission

(Case T-244/08)

(2008/C 223/89)

— the Commission wrongly applied the principle of a private

investor in a market economy.

Further, the applicant submits that the Commission disregarded
its own guidelines in the Communication on State aid elements
in sales of land and buildings by public authorities (1) and failed
to fulfil
its duty of inquiry since it failed to examine all the
factual circumstances.

Finally, the applicant asserts that the alleged State aid neither
distorts competition nor affects trade between the Member
States.

Language of the case: Swedish

(1) OJ 1997 C 209, p. 3.

Parties

Applicant: Konsum Nord ekonomisk förening (Umeå, Sweden)
(represented by: U. Öberg, lawyer)

Action brought on 20 June 2008 — Iranian Tobacco v
OHIM — AD Bulgartabac (TIR 20 FILTER CIGARETTES)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

— Annul

in its

entirety Commission Decision C(2008)
311 final of 30 January 2008 on the State aid implemented
by Sweden for Konsum Jämtland ekonomisk förening;

(Case T-245/08)

(2008/C 223/90)

Language in which the application was lodged: German

— order the Commission of the European Communities to pay

the costs.

Parties

Pleas in law and main arguments

By decision of 30 January 2008 on State aid No C 35/2006 (ex
NN 37/2006) implemented by Sweden for Konsum Jämtland,
which merged with the applicant in 2006, the Commission
found that the sale by the municipality of Åre of parts of an
unbuilt plot of land for SEK 2 million instead of SEK 6,6 million,
which was offered by Konsum Jämtland's competitor, Lidl,
constituted State aid contrary to Article 87 EC.

Applicant: Iranian Tobacco Company (Tehran, Iran) (represented
by: M. Beckensträter, lawyer)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM:
AD Bulgartabac Holding (Sofia, Bulgaria)

The applicant submits in support of its action that the Commis-
sion has committed a series of incorrect assessments in its legal
classification of the disputed sale as State aid since:

Form of order sought

— the Commission incorrectly found that the sale was not at
the market price and thus constituted an economic advan-
tage for Konsum Jämtland;

— the Commission did not take into consideration the fact that
the sale formed part of a series of land transactions under-
taken between different parties, the purpose of which was
the implementation of detailed plans for the village of Åre;

— annul the decision of the First Board of Appeal of 11 April
2008 (Case R 708/2007-1), notified on 21 April 2008;

— order the third party to pay the refundable costs, including

those of the main proceedings and of the defendant;

— in the alternative, annul the decision of 11 April 2008 and
that of 7 March 2007 — 1414C — and hold the third
party's application of 8 November 2005 to be inadmissible.