Case C-194/09 P: Appeal brought on 1 June 2009 by Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) delivered on 25 March 2009 in Case T-332/06: Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl v Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2009-06-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Italy, State aid, appeal, control of State aid, electrical energy, price of energy








C_2009193EN.01000802.xml










15.8.2009   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 193/8





Appeal brought on 1 June 2009 by Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) delivered on 25 March 2009 in Case T-332/06: Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl v Commission of the European Communities
(Case C-194/09 P)
2009/C 193/09
Language of the case: English

Parties


Appellant: Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl (represented by: Messrs M. Siragusa, T. Müller-Ibold, T. Graf, F. Salerno, attorneys-at-law)

Other party to the proceedings: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

The appellant claim that the Court should:






—


Annul the judgment of the First Chamber of the Court of First Instance of 25 March 2009, in case T-332/06, Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl vs. Commission of the European Communities,










—


Annul Commission Decision 2006/C 214/03 notifed to the Italian Republic on 19 July 2006, insofar as it concerns the electricity tariffs applicable to the aluminium plants owned by Alcoa Trasformazioni Srl.




Alternatively,






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Remand the case to the CFI for reconsideration in accordance with the Court's judgment.




And in either case,






—


Order the Commission to pay the Appellant's legal fees and expenses in accordance with Article 69 of the Court's Rules of Procedure, including reimbursement of the sums paid to the Commission as expenses incurred in connection with the proceedings in first instance.





Pleas in law and main arguments

Given the Commission's past finding that the electricity tariffs applicable to energy intensive industries in Italy did not constitute a state aid, the question arises as to what standard of investigation and reasoning the Commission should apply in such circumstances before opening formal proceedings. Alcoa submits that in a situation where the Commission has previously found that a measure does not constitute aid, the Commission cannot open such proceedings unless it has first conducted a comprehensive preliminary investigation in order to substantiate why the previous finding no longer holds. In addition the Commission must set out its reasons sufficiently clearly in its decision to open formal proceedings. Alcoa submits that the CFI erred in law in holding that the Commission could open formal proceedings without examining whether the original analysis of the 1996 decision had become invalid. The Commission's past finding that the measure did not constitute aid also raises the question of what procedure should apply in the event that the Commission decides to revisit the matter and to open formal proceedings against the measure in question. It follows both from the applicable procedural rules and the fundamental principles of legal certainty as well as from the protection of legitimate expectations that in such circumstances the procedure for investigating existing aid must apply. It is submitted that the CFI erred in law in holding that the Commission's reliance on the procedure for new aid in investigating Alcoa's tariffs was correct.