CELEX: C1995/137/70
Language: en
Date: 1995-06-03 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 16 March 1995 by Associação dos Refinadores de Açúcar Portugueses (ARAP), Alcantara Refinarias - Açúcares SA and RAR Refinarias de Açúcar Reunidas SA against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-83/95)

3 . 6 . 95              EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 137/31
Action brought on 16 March 1995 by Associagao dos                      ( b ) The Commission's approval of the concerned national
Refinadores de Agucar Portugueses ( ARAP), Alcantara                          aid schemes has been given without initiating the
Refinarias — A^ucares SA and RAR Refinarias de Agucar                         procedure provided for by Article 93 ( 2 ) of the EC
Reunidas SA against the Commission of the European                            Treaty. The lack of transparency and publicity has led
                             Communities                                      to an illegal approval of State aid schemes, contrary to
                          ( Case T-83/95 )                                    Article 92 of the EC Treaty and the objectives of the
                                                                              common agricultural policy.
                            ( 95/C 137/70 )
                 (Language of the case: English)                       ( c ) The decision not to initiate the procedure provided for
                                                                              by Article 93 ( 2 ) of the EC Treaty cannot be based on
                                                                              Commission Decision 90/342/EC and 94/ 173 /EC .
An action against the Commission of the European                              These Decisions are illegal as far as the Commission
Communities was brought before the Court of First                             thereby approved State aid for the establishment of a
Instance of the European Communities on 16 March 1995                         beet sugar factory in Portugal, excluded the application
by Associa^ao dos Refinadores de A^ucar Portugueses                           of Articles 93 ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) of the EC Treaty in such a case
( ARAP ), Alcantara Refinarias — A^ucares SA and RAR                          and/or deprived itself of the application of the
Refinarias de A^ucar Reunidas SA, represented by Mr                           procedure provided for in Article 93 ( 2 ) of the EC
Gerard van der Wal with an address for service in
                                                                              Treaty.
Luxembourg at the chambers of Aloyse May, 31 ,
Grand-Rue, L-1661 Luxembourg.
                                                                       The applicants consider that the Commission's decision that
The applicants claim that the Court should :                           Article 93 ( 3 ) of the EC Treaty does not apply to the
                                                                       individual national application of an approved general aid
— declare the application admissible ,                                  scheme such as SIBR and Decree law No 95/90 is illegal and
                                                                       wrong. Even if the approval of the general aid schemes is
                                                                        legally valid , the Portuguese authorities are still obliged to
— declare the Commission's decision of 9 January 1995                   notify ( Article 93 ( 3 ) of the EC Treaty ) and the Commission
      ( IV/002141 ) void , and                                          should initiate the procedure provided for by Article 93 ( 2 )
                                                                        of the EC Treaty as requested by the applicants on the
— order the Commission to pay the costs of the                          following grounds :
      applicants .
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                     ( a ) The aid granted to DAI surpasses the terms and limits of
                                                                               the approved national aid schemes .
The applicants made a formal complaint to the Commission
requesting the Commission to initiate the procedure
 provided for by Article 93 ( 2 ) of the EC Treaty concerning           ( b ) Member States are obliged to notify under
 the State aid granted by the Portuguese government to DAI                     Article 93 ( 3 ) of the EC Treaty the individual
 ( Sociedade de desinvolvemento Agro-Industrial ) for the                      applications of general aid schemes previously
 establishment of a beet sugar factory. On 12 December                         approved by the Commission in case the individual
 1994, the Commission decided not to initiate the procedure                    grant of aid goes beyond a simple measure of
 nor to take the other measures requested on the ground that                   application to which different criteria are applicable
 the aid would be granted on the basis of national                             than to the approved general scheme, such an
 aid-schemes approved by the Commission under Articles 92                      application in the agricultural sector and or a sector
 and 93 of the Treaty .                                                        characterized by overcapacity. This is clearly and
                                                                               specially the case for the sugar sector .
 The applicants maintain that the Commission's approval of
 the Portuguese national aid schemes laid down in the SIBR
 and Decree law No 95 /90 of 20 March 1990 — to which                   Finally, the applicants emphasize that the State aid to DAI
 approval the Commission refers in its decision — is illegal            and the Commission's decision not to take the measures and
 for several reasons :                                                  initiate the procedure requested for by them is contrary to
                                                                        the Multilateral Agreements on Trade ( more specifically the
 ( a ) The Commission did not impose the adequate                       Agreement on Agriculture ) and results in a violation of
                                                                        Article 213 of the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention .
         conditions on the Portuguese authorities to enable the
         individual applications of the approved aid schemes to
         be analysed within the procedural framework and
         guarantees laid down in Article 92 ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) of the EC
         Treaty and the case law. The Commission did not
         provide for the necessary control on sectoral
         consequences of the approved schemes .