CELEX: C2002/144/105
Language: en
Date: 2002-06-15 00:00:00
Title: Case T-87/02: Action brought on 26 March 2002 by Territorio Histórico de Bizkaia — Diputación Foral de Bizkaia aygainst Commission of the European Communities

15.6.2002              EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 144/53
      percentage of the investment or the cost of salaries was           —     in the alternative, annul Article 3 of that decision;
      not set beforehand in no way precludes its being done
      subsequently with the aim of checking that it does not
      exceed the level of aid for a region authorised as part of         —     order the Commission to pay the costs.
      overall regional aid.
e.    in the alternative to all the above pleas in law, the order        Pleas in law and main arguments
      requiring recovery of the aid (first sentence of Article 3
      of the contested decision) infringes the last sentence of
      Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 given the
      exceptional circumstances of the present case (duration            The applicants contest Commission Decision C(2001) 4478
      of the preliminary examination, which lasted more than             final of 20 December 2001 declaring State aid incompatible
      79 months). The fact that the Commission examined the              with the common market the exemption from company tax
      fiscal scheme at issue in 1994 and did not find against it         arising from Article 14 of Norma Foral (Regional Law) No 5/
      gave rise to a well-founded expectation that it was                1993 of 24 June 1993 on urgent fiscal provisions to promote
      regarded as compliant with Community law, so that                  investment and economic activity (Boletı́n Oficial de Bizkaia
      Article 3 of the contested decision is contrary to the             No 154 of 7 July 1993), which provides for exemption from
      principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations.         company tax for undertakings created between the entry into
                                                                         force of that Law and 31 December 1994, provided that they
                                                                         invest more than PTA 80 million (EUR 480 810), create more
                                                                         than 10 new jobs and have disbursed capital amounting to
                                                                         more than PTA 20 million (EUR 120 202).
                                                                         The pleas in law and main arguments put forward by the
                                                                         applicants are identical to those put forward in Case T-86/02.
Action brought on 26 March 2002 by Territorio Histórico
de Bizkaia — Diputación Foral de Bizkaia aygainst Com-
            mission of the European Communities
                          (Case T-87/02)                                 Action brought on 26 March 2002 by Territorio Histórico
                                                                         de Gipuzkoa — Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa against
                                                                                  Commission of the European Communities
                        (2002/C 144/105)
                                                                                                   (Case T-88/02)
                  (Language of the case: Spanish)                                                (2002/C 144/106)
                                                                                            (Language of the case: Spanish)
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the               An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
European Communities on 26 March 2002 by the Territorio                  ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
Histórico de Bizkaia — Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, Bizkaia            European Communities on 26 March 2002 by the Territorio
(Spain), represented by Ignacio Saenz-Cortabarria and Marta              Histórico de Gipuzkoa — Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa,
Morales Isasi.                                                           Gipuzkoa (Spain), represented by Ignacio Saenz-Cortabarria
                                                                         and Marta Morales Isasi.
The applicants claim that the Court should:                              The applicants claim that the Court should:
—     annul the Commission Decision of 20 December 2001                  —     annul the Commission Decision of 20 December 2001
      on the system of aid implemented by Spain in 1993 in                     on the system of aid implemented by Spain in 1993 in
      favour of a number of newly-created undertakings in                      favour of a number of newly-created undertakings in
      Bizkaia;                                                                 Gipuzkoa;