CELEX: 62019CA0933
Language: en
Date: 2021-11-11 00:00:00
Title: 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)

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.