Case C-933/19 P: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 11 November 2021 — Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. v European Commission, Republic of Poland (Appeal — State aid — Toll-motorway concession — Law providing for an exemption from tolls for certain vehicles — Compensation granted to the concession holder by the Member State for loss of revenue — Shadow toll — Compensation found by the European Commission to be excessive and to include State aid — Commission decision declaring that aid incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery — Procedural rights of the aid beneficiary — Commission’s obligation to exercise particular vigilance — Concept of ‘State aid’ — Advantage — Improvement of the concession holder’s expected financial situation — Criterion of the private operator in a market economy — Distortion of the evidence — Breach of the obligation to state reasons — Misreading of the decision at issue — Substitution of grounds — Reversal of the burden of proof — Breach of the principle of primacy of EU law — Judicial review to be conducted by the General Court — Requirements and limits)
Date: 2021-11-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Greater Poland province, State aid, control of State aid, indemnification, judicial review, primacy of EU law, reimbursement of aid, service concession, toll, vehicle








C_2022011EN.01000302.xml










10.1.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 11/3






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 11 November 2021 — Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. v European Commission, Republic of Poland
(Case C-933/19 P) (1)

(Appeal - State aid - Toll-motorway concession - Law providing for an exemption from tolls for certain vehicles - Compensation granted to the concession holder by the Member State for loss of revenue - Shadow toll - Compensation found by the European Commission to be excessive and to include State aid - Commission decision declaring that aid incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery - Procedural rights of the aid beneficiary - Commission’s obligation to exercise particular vigilance - Concept of ‘State aid’ - Advantage - Improvement of the concession holder’s expected financial situation - Criterion of the private operator in a market economy - Distortion of the evidence - Breach of the obligation to state reasons - Misreading of the decision at issue - Substitution of grounds - Reversal of the burden of proof - Breach of the principle of primacy of EU law - Judicial review to be conducted by the General Court - Requirements and limits)
(2022/C 11/04)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Appellant: Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. (represented by: O. Geiss, Rechtsanwalt, and T. Siakka, dikigoros)

Other parties to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: L. Armati, K. Herrmann and S. Noë, acting as Agents), Republic of Poland (represented by: B. Majczyna and M. Rzotkiewicz, acting as Agents)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the appeal;










2.


Orders Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;










3.


Orders the Republic of Poland to bear its own costs.






(1)  OJ C 87, 16.3.2020.