Case T-201/25: Action brought on 27 March 2025 – Poland v Commission
Date: 2025-03-27
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: State aid, aid to undertakings, control of State aid, motorway, service concession








C_202502693EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/2693


19.5.2025






Action brought on 27 March 2025 – Poland v Commission


(Case T-201/25)

(C/2025/2693)
Language of the case: Polish

Parties


Applicant: Republic of Poland (represented by: B. Majczyna, Agent)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






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annul in its entirety the Commission decision of 17 January 2025 concerning notification: SA.107930 (2023/NN) – Poland ‘Gdańsk Transport Company S.A. – new aid in the context of the concession contract concerning the A1 motorway’
               










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order the Commission to pay the costs of the proceedings.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on three pleas in law.






1.


First plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 107(1) TFEU










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According to the applicant, the Commission incorrectly assessed the notification made by Poland on 9 June 2023 of State aid to Gdańsk Transport Company S.A. (GTC). The information submitted to the Commission did not allow the Commission to find that the newly notified State aid had already been approved by the Commission in 2009, and the Commission should have recognised that aid as new aid










2.


Second plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, (1) read in conjunction with Article 13(2) TEU.










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The Republic of Poland submits that the Commission infringed Article 4(1) of Regulation 2015/1589 read in conjunction with Article 13(2) TEU by finding that the notification made by Poland on 9 June 2023 did not constitute a valid notification of aid. Article 4(1) of Regulation 2015/1589 exhaustively sets out the types of decisions which the Commission may issue after a preliminary examination of the notification of State aid made by a Member State, but it does not provide for the possibility for the Commission to find that the notification made by the Member State did not constitute a valid notification. In turn, Article 13(2) imposes an obligation on the EU institution to act within the limits of the powers conferred on it in the Treaties, and in conformity with the procedures and conditions set out in them.










3.


Third plea in law, alleging infringement of the second paragraph of Article 296 TFEU.










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The Republic of Poland submits that the Commission infringed the second paragraph of Article 296 TFEU by failing to state the reasons explaining why in the Commission’s view the aid notified to it by Poland on 9 June 2023 is identical to the aid already approved by the Commission in the 2009 decision, where the conditions for the grant of the aid notified in 2023 are different from the conditions for the aid approved in 2009. The Commission has also failed to explain why, in its view, the aid notified to it in 2023 is identical to the aid approved in 2009, despite the fact that it is not apparent from the contested decision that the Commission examined the total amount of aid for GTC, which means that the Commission has not clarified whether or not the total value of the aid which GTC will receive exceeds the limits of the aid approved by the Commission in 2009.






(1)  Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (OJ 2015 L 248, p. 9).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2693/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)