Joined Cases T-60/06 RENV II and T-62/06 RENV II: Judgment of the General Court of 22 April 2016 — Italy and Eurallumina v Commission (State aid — Directive 92/81/EEC — Excise duties on mineral oils — Mineral oils used as fuel for alumina production — Exemption from excise — Selective nature of the measure — Aid which may be considered compatible with the common market — Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection — Guidelines on national regional aid 1998 — Legitimate expectations — Legal certainty — Principle lex specialis derogat legi generali — Principles of presumption of legality and of the effet utile of acts of the institutions — Principle of sound administration — Obligation to state reasons)
Date: 2016-04-22
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Sardinia, State aid, control of State aid, excise duty, fuel, legality, mineral oil, principle of legal certainty, right to justice, tax exemption








C_2016200EN.01001802.xml










6.6.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 200/18





Judgment of the General Court of 22 April 2016 — Italy and Eurallumina v Commission
(Joined Cases T-60/06 RENV II and T-62/06 RENV II) (1)

((State aid - Directive 92/81/EEC - Excise duties on mineral oils - Mineral oils used as fuel for alumina production - Exemption from excise - Selective nature of the measure - Aid which may be considered compatible with the common market - Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection - Guidelines on national regional aid 1998 - Legitimate expectations - Legal certainty - Principle lex specialis derogat legi generali - Principles of presumption of legality and of the effet utile of acts of the institutions - Principle of sound administration - Obligation to state reasons))
(2016/C 200/26)
Languages of the case: Italian and English

Parties


Applicants: Italian Republic (represented by: G. Palmieri, acting as Agent, and G. Aiello, avvocato dello Stato), and Eurallumina SpA (Portoscuso, Italy) (represented by: L. Martin Alegi, R. Denton, A. Stratakis and L. Philippou, Solicitors)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: V. Di Bucci, N. Khan, G. Conte, D. Grespan and K. Walkerová, acting as Agents)

Re:

Application for the annulment of Commission Decision 2006/323/EC of 7 December 2005 concerning the exemption from excise duty on mineral oils used as fuel for alumina production in Gardanne, in the Shannon region and in Sardinia respectively implemented by France, Ireland and Italy (OJ 2006 L 119, p. 12), to the extent that it concerns the existence of State aid granted by the Italian Republic, between 3 February 2002 and 31 December 2003, on the basis of the exemption from excise duty on mineral oils used as fuel for alumina production in Sardinia (Italy) and that it orders the Italian Republic to recover that aid.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the actions;










2.


Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs in Cases T-60/06, T-60/06 RENV I and T-60/06 RENV II and to bear its own costs and pay one fifth of the costs incurred by the Commission in Cases C-89/08 P and C-272/12 P;










3.


Orders Eurallumina SpA to bear its own costs and to pay three quarters of the costs incurred by the Commission in Cases T-62/06, T-62/06 RENV I and T-62/06 RENV II and three twentieths of the costs incurred by the Commission in Cases C-89/08 P and C-272/12 P;










4.


Orders the Commission to bear one quarter of its own costs in Cases T-62/06, T-62/06 RENV I and T-62/06 RENV II and one fifth of its own costs in Cases C-89/08 P and C-272/12 P.






(1)  OJ C 96, 22.4.2006.