PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna SA v Prezes Urzędu Regulacji Energetyki.
Date: 2016-09-15
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In order to answer that question, it must be stated that, in accordance with the Court’s settled case-law, in the context of the system of State aid control established by the FEU Treaty, the national courts, on the one hand, and the Commission, on the other, have complementary but distinct roles (see, to that effect, judgment of 21 November 2013, Deutsche Lufthansa, C‑284/12, EU:C:2013:755, paragraph 27 and the case-law cited).
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In particular, national courts ensure the safeguarding, until the final decision of the Commission, of the rights of individuals faced with a possible breach by State authorities of the prohibition laid down by Article 108(3) TFEU (judgment of 21 November 2013, Deutsche Lufthansa, C‑284/12, EU:C:2013:755, paragraph 28 and the case-law cited). For this purpose, proceedings may be commenced before national courts requiring those courts to interpret and apply the concept of ‘State aid’, contained in Article 107(1) TFEU, in order to determine whether a State measure introduced without observance of the preliminary examination procedure provided for in Article 108(3) TFEU ought or ought not to have been subject to this procedure (see, to that effect, judgment of 18 July 2007, Lucchini, C‑119/05, EU:C:2007:434, paragraph 50 and the case-law cited).
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On the other hand, national courts do not have jurisdiction to give a ruling on whether aid measures or a State aid regime are compatible with the internal market. Indeed, in accordance with the Court’s settled case-law, that assessment falls within the exclusive competence of the Commission, subject to review by the Courts of the European Union (see, to that effect, judgments of 18 July 2007, Lucchini, C‑119/05, EU:C:2007:434, paragraphs 51 and 52 and the case-law cited, and of 21 November 2013, Deutsche Lufthansa, C‑284/12, EU:C:2013:755, paragraph 28 and the case-law cited).
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It is also important to note that the application of the European Union rules on State aid is based on an obligation of sincere cooperation between, on the one hand, the national courts and, on the other, the Commission and the Courts of the European Union, in the context of which each acts on the basis of the role assigned to it by the Treaty. In the context of that cooperation, national courts must take all the necessary measures, whether general or specific, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations under European Union law and refrain from taking those which may jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of the Treaty, as follows from Article 4(3) TEU. Therefore, national courts must, in particular, refrain from taking decisions which conflict with a decision of the Commission, even if it is provisional (see judgment of 21 November 2013, Deutsche Lufthansa, C‑284/12, EU:C:2013:755, paragraph 41).
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Thus, if a national court entertains doubts regarding the interpretation of a decision of the Commission which classified a specific measure as State aid, that court may seek clarification from the Commission or, depending on the circumstances, may or must, in accordance with the second and third subparagraphs of Article 267 TFEU, refer a question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 107 TFEU (see, to that effect, in particular, judgments of 11 July 1996, SFEI and Others, C‑39/94, EU:C:1996:285, paragraphs 50 and 51, and of 21 November 2013, Deutsche Lufthansa, C‑284/12, EU:C:2013:755, paragraph 44).