CELEX: C2000/020/49
Language: en
Date: 2000-01-22 00:00:00
Title: Case T-244/99: Action brought on 18 October 1999 by Sadam Abruzzo Spa against the Commission of the European Communities

C 20/24               EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                       22.1.2000
The applicant claims that the Court should:                               Pleas in law and main arguments
(a) annul the Commission’s decision (C(1999) 2539 final) (1)
    of 20 July 1999 concerning State aid granted by the                   The applicant company seeks annulment of Commission
    Netherlands to 633 service stations in the region bordering           Decision C (1999) 1363 def. of 11 May 1999 on economic
    Germany;                                                              and financial aid to two sugar manufacturing plants which
                                                                          process all the sugar beet from four Italian regions (Tuscany,
(b) order the Commission to pay the costs.                                Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo).
Pleas in law and main arguments                                           In the contested decision, the Commission found that:
This case corresponds to Case T-210/99. The applicant claims              — all the financial aid investigated constituted State aid;
that it was not it but the service station operators, who carry
on business autonomously and independently from Esso, that
applied for and received the aid; consequently, it cannot be              — most of the aid was incompatible with the common
required to repay the aid. In its view, the decision is based on               market, and therefore to be refunded.
an incomplete and incorrect assessment of the facts and also
infringes Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty by introducing the
concept of the de facto recipient of the aid.
                                                                          According to the applicant, in reaching that conclusion the
                                                                          Commission disregarded the arguments, information and
(1) OJ L 280 of 30.10.1999, p. 87.                                        figures submitted by the Italian authorities during the adminis-
                                                                          trative procedure. It thus reached a decision which, apart from
                                                                          being insufficiently reasoned, discloses manifest errors of
                                                                          assessment in respect of fundamental questions of law and fact
                                                                          in relation, inter alia, to the relevant Community legislation;
                                                                          the scope and effects of the legislation and measures adopted
                                                                          by the Italian authorities; the content, scope and effects of
                                                                          the legal and economic relationships between the parties
                                                                          concerned; the scope and effects of the various aid packages
                                                                          investigated; the identification of the recipients of the so-called
Action brought on 18 October 1999 by Sadam Abruzzo                        State aid; and the compatibility of that aid with the principles
Spa against the Commission of the European Communi-                       and rules applicable in such cases.
                               ties
                        (Case T-244/99)                                   In particular, it is alleged that the Commission disregarded
                                                                          inter alia the following aspects:
                         (2000/C 20/49)
                                                                          — the protection of the agricultural and industrial production
                                                                               concerned was in this case guaranteed by the relevant
                   (Language of the case: Italian)                             Community rules which allowed Italy considerable latitude
                                                                               to grant production aid;
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the                — the aid given to the two manufacturing plants was entirely
European Communities on 18 October 1999 by Sadam Abruz-                        consistent with the objectives of the national plan for the
zo Spa, represented by Antonio Tizzano and Gian Michele                        sector in question, which had been approved earlier by the
Roberti, of the Naples Bar, and Alberto Maffei Alberti,                        Commission;
Gualtiero Pittalis and Alessandra Franchi, of the Bologna Bar,
with an address for service in Brussels at 36 Place du Grand
Sablon.                                                                   — the difficulties encountered over a certain period by the
                                                                               plants concerned depended on external factors, which did
The applicant claims that the Court should:                                    not in the least diminish their economic potential or their
                                                                               productivity prospects;
— annul (wholly or in part) the Commission’s decision of
    11 May 1999 concerning State aid granted by Italy to the              — the plants in question are located in assisted regions and,
    sugar sector (C (1999) 1363 def.);                                         as confirmed by the national plan for the sector, are
                                                                               essential to ensure a market outlet for products from two
— order the Commission of the European Communities to                          regions of fundamental importance for the cultivation of
    pay the costs.                                                             sugar beet;
 ---pagebreak--- 22.1.2000             EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                         C 20/25
— the contested decision threatens now, at a distance of                  Action brought on 19 October 1999 by Tirrenia di
    years, to undermine the balance achieved and to recreate              Navigazione SpA and Others against Commission of the
    the dangers previously pre-empted by the action taken by                                  European Communities
    the Italian authorities.
                                                                                                  (Case T-246/99)
                                                                                                   (2000/C 20/51)
                                                                                             (Language of the case: Italian)
Action brought on 18 October 1999 by Sadam Casti-                         An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
glionese Spa against the Commission of the European                       ties was brought before the Court of First Instance on
                          Communities                                     19 October 1999 by Tirrenia di Navigazione SpA and Others,
                                                                          represented by Antonio Tizzano and Gian Michele Roberti, of
                                                                          the Naples Bar, and of 36 Place du Grand Sablon, Brussels.
                        (Case T-245/99)
                                                                          The applicant claims that the Court of First Instance should:
                         (2000/C 20/50)
                                                                          — annul the Commission decision of 6 August 1999;
                   (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                          — order the Commission to pay the costs.
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 18 October 1999 by Sadam Casti-                   Contentions and principal arguments adduced in support
glionese Spa, represented by Antonio Tizzano and Gian
Michele Roberti, of the Naples Bar, and Alberto Maffei Alberti,
Gualtiero Pittalis and Alessandra Franchi, of the Bologna Bar,            These proceedings seek annulment of the Commission decision
with an address for service in Brussels at 36 Place du Grand              of 6 August 1999 whereby the Commission initiated a pro-
Sablon.                                                                   cedure under Article 88(2) of the Treaty regarding State aid
                                                                          allegedly granted by Italy to the applicant companies. The aid
                                                                          objected to in the contested decision is said to derive from
The applicant claims that the Court should:                               ‘agreements between undertaking in the Tirrenia Group and
                                                                          the Italian State’ and to consist essentially of the introduction
                                                                          of public service obligations (PSOs) subsidised on certain
— annul (wholly or in part) the Commission’s decision of                  routes and of related financial mechanisms.
    11 May 1999 concerning State aid granted by Italy to the
    sugar sector (C (1999) 1363 def.);
                                                                          The applicants, which are part of the Tirrenia Group, observe
                                                                          that, under the domestic Italian rules, they are subject to
— order the Commission of the European Communities to                     specific restrictions regarding the services to be provided
    pay the costs.
                                                                          and the procedures for providing them. In particular, those
                                                                          restrictions relate to three basic parameters: the routes to be
                                                                          followed, the frequencies/timetables for each route and the
                                                                          type of vessels to be used on individual routes.
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                          In support of their claims, the applicants submit that:
The applicant relies on the pleas in law and arguments put
forward in Case T-244/99 Sadam Abruzzo v Commission.
                                                                          — The basis of the PSOs at issue reflects a legitimate choice
                                                                              made by the Italian authorities, covered by Article 4(3)
                                                                              of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 applying the
                                                                              principle of freedom to provide services to maritime
                                                                              transport within Member States (maritime cabotage).