CELEX: C2003/264/01
Language: en
Date: 2003-11-01 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 11 September 2003 in Case C-197/99 P: Kingdom of Belgium v Commission of the European Communities (Appeal — ECSC Treaty — State aid — Fifth Steel Aid Code — Commission Decision 97/271/ECSC prohibiting certain financial assistance to a steel undertaking — Article 33 of the ECSC Treaty — Infringement)

1.11.2003               EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                               C 264/1
                                                                         I
                                                                   (Information)
                                                     COURT OF JUSTICE
                                                               COURT OF JUSTICE
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                       established in Clabecq (Belgium), applicant at first instance, the
                                                                             Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President
                                                                             of the Chamber, C. Gulmann, F. Macken (Rapporteur), N. Col-
                         (Sixth Chamber)                                     neric and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate
                                                                             General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 11 Sep-
                                                                             tember 2003, in which it:
                      of 11 September 2003
in Case C-197/99 P: Kingdom of Belgium v Commission                          1.   Sets aside the judgment of the Court of First Instance of
               of the European Communities (1)                                    25 March 1999 in Case T-37/97 Forges de Clabecq v
                                                                                  Commission, in so far as:
(Appeal — ECSC Treaty — State aid — Fifth Steel Aid
Code — Commission Decision 97/271/ECSC prohibiting                                —     it distorted the scope of Commission Decision 97/271/
certain financial assistance to a steel undertaking —                                   ECSC of 18 December 1996, ECSC steel — Forges de
       Article 33 of the ECSC Treaty — Infringement)                                    Clabecq declaring that certain financial assistance granted
                                                                                        to Forges de Clabecq was incompatible with the internal
                                                                                        market,
                         (2003/C 264/01)
                                                                                  —     it is vitiated by a failure to state reasons, in breach of
                    (Language of the case: French)                                      Article 30 and the first paragraph of Article 46 of the
                                                                                        ECSC Statute of the Court of Justice;
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                   in the European Court Reports)                            2.   Dismisses the remainder of the appeal;
                                                                             3.   Dismisses the action for annulment brought by Forges de
                                                                                  Clabecq SA;
In Case C-197/99 P, Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: A. Snoecx,
assisted by J.-M. De Backer, G. Vandersanden and L. Levi),
supported by Compagnie belge pour le financement de                          4.   Orders the Kingdom of Belgium, the Commission of the
l’industrie SA (Belfin), represented by M. van der Haegen,                        European Communities and the Compagnie belge pour le
D. Waelbroeck and A. Fontaine, avocats, with an address for                       financement de l’industrie SA to bear the costs they incurred
service in Luxembourg: Appeal against the judgment of the                         before the Court of Justice.
Court of First Instance of the European Communities (Fourth
Chamber, Extended Composition) of 25 March 1999 in Case
T-37/97 Forges de Clabecq v Commission [1999] ECR II-859,
seeking to have that judgment set aside, the other parties                   (1) OJ C 281 of 2.10.1999.
to the proceedings being: Commission of the European
Communities, represented by G. Rozet, acting as Agent, with
an address for service in Luxembourg, defendant at first
instance, Forges de Clabecq SA, a company in receivership