Case T-630/15: Judgment of the General Court of 13 December 2018 — Scandlines Danmark and Scandlines Deutschland v Commission (State aid — Public financing of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link rail-road project — Individual aid — Decision not to raise any objections — Decision finding no State aid and declaring the aid compatible with the internal market — Definition of State aid — Adverse effect on competition and effect on trade between Member States — Conditions governing compatibility — Aid to promote the execution of an important project of common European interest — Necessity of the aid — Incentive effect — Proportionality of the aid — Serious difficulties justifying the initiation of the formal investigation procedure — Obligation to state reasons — Communication on State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest)
Date: 2018-12-13
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Baltic Sea, Denmark, State aid, control of State aid, engineering structure, financing, project of common interest, rail transport, restriction on competition, road network








C_2019082EN.01003702.xml










4.3.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 82/37






Judgment of the General Court of 13 December 2018 — Scandlines Danmark and Scandlines Deutschland v Commission
(Case T-630/15) (1)

((State aid - Public financing of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link rail-road project - Individual aid - Decision not to raise any objections - Decision finding no State aid and declaring the aid compatible with the internal market - Definition of State aid - Adverse effect on competition and effect on trade between Member States - Conditions governing compatibility - Aid to promote the execution of an important project of common European interest - Necessity of the aid - Incentive effect - Proportionality of the aid - Serious difficulties justifying the initiation of the formal investigation procedure - Obligation to state reasons - Communication on State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest))
(2019/C 82/42)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicants: Scandlines Danmark ApS (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Scandlines Deutschland GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) (represented by: initially L. Sandberg-Mørch and M.-E. Vitali, and subsequently L. Sandberg-Mørch, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: L. Armati, L. Flynn and S. Noë, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the applicant: Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) eV (Stuttgart, Germany) (represented by: T. Hohmuth, lawyer); and Föreningen Svensk Sjöfart (Gothenburg, Sweden) (represented by: L. Sandberg-Mørch and J. Buendía Sierra, lawyers)

Intervener in support of the defendant: Kingdom of Denmark (represented by: initially C. Thorning, and subsequently J. Nymann-Lindegren, acting as Agents, and R. Holdgaard, lawyer)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision C(2015) 5023 final of 23 July 2015 on State aid SA.39078 (2014/N) (Denmark) for the financing of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link project (OJ 2015 C 325, p. 5).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Annuls Commission Decision C(2015) 5023 final of 23 July 2015 on State aid SA.39078 (2014/N) (Denmark) for the financing of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link project (OJ 2015 C 325, p. 5) in so far as the Commission decided not to raise any objections to the measures granted by the Kingdom of Denmark to Femern A/S for the planning, construction and operation of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link;










2.


Dismisses the action as to the remainder;










3.


Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and to pay the costs incurred by Scandlines Danmark ApS and Scandlines Deutschland GmbH;










4.


Orders the Kingdom of Denmark, Föreningen Svensk Sjöfart and Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) eV to bear their own costs.






(1)  OJ C 59, 15.2.2016.