Case T-144/05: Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 18 December 2008 — Muñiz v Commission (Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to a meeting of the Working Group of the  Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Mechanical/Miscellaneous) of the Customs Code Committee — Refusal of access — Exception relating to the protection of the decision-making process)
Date: 2008-12-18
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, access to EU information, action for annulment (EU), disclosure of information

21.2.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 44/41

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 18 December
2008 — Government of Gibraltar and United Kingdom v
Commission

(Joined Cases T-211/04 and T 215/04) (1)

(State aid — Aid scheme notified by the United Kingdom
regarding the Government of Gibraltar's reform of corporate
tax — Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with
the common market — Regional selectivity — Material
selectivity)

(2009/C 44/69)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant
in Case T-211/04: Government of Gibraltar (repre-
sented by M. Llamas, barrister, J. Temple Lang, solicitor, and
A. Petersen, lawyer, and initially by K. Nordlander and subse-
quently by K. Karl, lawyers)

Applicant in Case T-215/04: United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (represented initially by M. Bethell and
E. Jenkinson, Agents, D. Anderson QC and H. Davies, barrister,
and subsequently by E. Jenkinson, E. O'Neill and S. Behzadi-
Spencer, Agents)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by N. Khan and V. Di Bucci, Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicant in Case T-211/04: United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (represented
initially by M. Bethell, Agent, D. Anderson QC and H. Davies,
Jenkinson and E. O'Neill,
barrister, and subsequently by E.
Agents)

Intervener in support of the defendant: Kingdom of Spain (repre-
sented by N. Díaz Abad, abogado del Estado)

Re:

for

annulment

Commission Decision
Applications
2005/261/EC of 30 March 2004 on the aid scheme which the
United Kingdom is planning to implement as regards the
Government of Gibraltar Corporation Tax Reform (OJ 2005
L 85, p. 1).

of

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Joins Cases T 211/04 and T 215/04 for the purposes of judg-

ment;

2. Annuls Commission Decision 2005/261/EC of 30 March 2004
on the aid scheme which the United Kingdom is planning to imple-
ment as regards the Government of Gibraltar Corporation Tax
Reform;

3. Orders the Commission to pay the costs of the Government of
Gibraltar and those of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland in Case T-215/04, and to bear its own costs;

4. Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

to bear its own costs as intervener in Case T-211/04;

5. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs as intervener in

Cases T-211/04 and T-215/04.

(1) OJ C 217, 28.8.2004.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 18 December
2008 — Muñiz v Commission

(Case T-144/05) (1)

‘Tariff

(Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 —
Documents relating to a meeting of the Working Group of
the
Section
(Mechanical/Miscellaneous)’ of the Customs Code Committee
— Refusal of access — Exception relating to the protection of
the decision-making process)

Nomenclature

Statistical

and

(2009/C 44/70)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Pablo Muñiz (Brussels, Belgium) (represented: initially
by B. Dehandschutter, and subsequently by L. Defalque, lawyers)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: P. Costa de Oliveira and I. Chatzigiannis, Agents)

Re:

Application for annulment of
the Commission's decision of
3 February 2005 refusing to grant access to certain documents
relating to the September 2004 meeting of the Working Group
of the ‘Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Mechanical/
Miscellaneous)’ of the Customs Code Committee.

C 44/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.2.2009

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

‘TAXUD/1342/2003’,

1. Annuls the Commission's decision of 3 February 2005 inasmuch
as it refused access to documents, ‘TAXUD/1369/2003’ relating
to home cinema, ‘TAXUD/974/2004’ relating to vehicles for dual
use,
and
units,
‘TAXUD/2495/2004’
‘XXI/770/1998’ relating to incomplete ADP machines, and to the
minutes of the September 2004 meeting of the Working Group of
‘Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Mechanical/
the
(document
Miscellaneous)’ of
‘TAXUD/3010/2004 — Annex V’);

‘TAXUD/2465/2004’
supply

the Customs Code Committee

relating

power

to

mented by Finland for investment aid to Componenta Corpora-
tion (OJ 2006 L 353, p. 36)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Annuls Commission Decision 2006/900/EC of 20 October 2005
on the State Aid implemented by Finland for investment aid to
Componenta Corporation;

2. Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and pay Componen-

ta's costs;

2. Declares that there is no need to adjudicate on the remainder of the

action;

3. Orders the Republic of Finland to bear its own costs.

3. Orders the Commission to pay the costs incurred by Mr Pablo

Muñiz.

(1) OJ C 48, 25.2.2006.

(1) OJ C 132, 28.5.2005.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 18 December
2008 — Componenta v Commission

(Case T-455/05) (1)

(State aid — Metallurgy sector — Acquisition of a share-
holding held by an undertaking in a property company and
repayment of a loan by that undertaking to the property
company in consideration for an investment in that under-
taking — Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the
common market and ordering its recovery — Private investor
test — Valuation of the shares in a property company —
Valuation of the real property assets of a company — Duty to
state the reasons for the decision — Finding of the Court of
its own motion)

(2009/C 44/71)

Language of the case: Finnish

Parties

Applicant: Componenta Oyj (Helsinki, Finland) (represented by:
M. Savola and A. Järvinen, lawyers)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 18 December
2008 — General Química v Commission

(Case T-85/06) (1)

(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices
— Rubber chemicals sector — Decision finding an infringe-
ment of Article 81 EC — Exchange of confidential informa-
tion and price fixing — Imputation to parent company —
Joint and several liability — Fines — Leniency notice)

(2009/C 44/72)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicants: General Química, SA (Alava, Spain); Repsol Química,
SA (Madrid, Spain); and Repsol YPF, SA (Madrid) (represented
by: J.M. Jiménez Laiglesia Oñate and J. Jiménez Laiglesia Oñate,
lawyers)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: F. Castillo de la Torre and F. Amato, then by F.
Castillo de la Torre, Agents)

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

Re:

Intervener in support of the applicant: Republic of Finland (repre-
sented by: E. Bygglin, A. Guimaraes-Purokoski and J. Heliskoski,
Agents)

Re:

Application
Commission Decision
2006/900/EC of 20 October 2005 on the State Aid imple-

annulment

for

of

Application for partial annulment of Commission Decision
2006/902/EC of 21 December 2005 relating to a proceeding
under Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement
Flexsys NV, Bayer AG, Crompton Manufacturing
against
(former Uniroyal Chemical Company Inc.),
Company Inc.
Crompton
(former
Crompton Corporation), General Química SA, Repsol Química
SA and Repsol YPF SA (Case No COMP/F/C.38.443 — Rubber
chemicals) (OJ 2006 L 353, p. 50), and, alternatively, the reduc-
tion of the fine imposed on the applicants

Ltd, Chemtura Corporation

Europe