Federal Republic of Germany v Commission of the European Communities.
Date: 1985-10-03
30 THE COURT CONSIDERS THAT THE APPLICANT RIGHTLY EMPHASIZES THAT IN A SITUATION OF CRISIS THERE IS A CLOSE LINK , FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ECSC TREATY , BETWEEN THE GRANTING OF AID TO THE STEEL INDUSTRY AND THE RESTRUCTURING WHICH THAT INDUSTRY IS REQUIRED TO UNDERTAKE . ARTICLE 4 OF THE ECSC TREATY PROHIBITS ' SUBSIDIES OR AIDS GRANTED BY STATES . . . IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER ' . ACCORDINGLY , BY ESTABLISHING UNDER THE FIRST AND SECOND PARAGRAPHS OF ARTICLE 95 OF THE ECSC TREATY A COMMUNITY AID SYSTEM ( THE LEGALITY OF WHICH AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE HAS NOT BEEN CONTESTED BY THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT IN THESE PROCEEDINGS ), THE COMMISSION WAS UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ENTITLED TO AUTHORIZE THE GRANTING OF STATE AID WHICH WAS NOT NECESSARY TO ATTAIN THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TREATY AND WOULD BE LIKELY TO GIVE RISE TO DISTORTIONS OF COMPETITION ON THE COMMON MARKET IN STEEL .
40 SECONDARILY , THE APPLICANT CLAIMS THAT ARTICLE 8 OF THE SECOND AIDS CODE HAS BEEN INFRINGED . IT ARGUES THAT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF AID AUTHORIZED BY THE CONTESTED DECISIONS DIFFERS BY SOME 7 500 MILLION ECU FROM THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF AID NOTIFIED TO THE COMMISSION BY 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 , THE DATE BY WHICH , UNDER ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ), ALL AID PLANS HAD TO BE NOTIFIED TO THE COMMISSION . THE APPLICANT OBSERVES THAT IT WAS INFORMED OF THE INCREASE IN AID ONLY BY THE PUBLICATION OF THE DECISIONS OF 29 JUNE 1983 .
41 THE APPLICANT ARGUES THAT , BY ACTING IN THAT WAY , THE COMMISSION INFRINGED THE SECOND AIDS CODE IN TWO RESPECTS : FIRST , IT DISREGARDED THE DATE SPECIFIED IN ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ), EVEN THOUGH THAT DATE CONSTITUTED A TIME-LIMIT PRECLUDING ANY FURTHER NOTIFICATION OF AID ; SECONDLY , IT FAILED , CONTRARY TO ARTICLE 8 ( 2 ), TO PUT THE MEMBER STATES IN A POSITION TO STATE THEIR VIEWS ON THE AID PLANS NOTIFIED AFTER 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 .
42 THE COMMISSION ADMITS THAT THE AMOUNT OF THE AID WHICH IT AUTHORIZED BY ITS DECISIONS OF 29 JUNE 1983 EXCEEDS THE AMOUNT OF THE AID PLANS NOTIFIED TO IT BY 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 AND THAT IT DID NOT SEEK THE MEMBER STATES '  VIEWS THEREON . THE COMMISSION FURTHER ADMITS THAT , BY VIRTUE OF ARTICLE 12 ( 1 ) OF THE SECOND AIDS CODE , THE DATE LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ) OF THE CODE MAY BE ALTERED SOLELY WITH THE ASSENT OF THE COUNCIL , WHICH WAS NOT GIVEN IN THIS CASE .
43 HOWEVER , THE COMMISSION CONSIDERS THAT THE DATE OF 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ) OF THE SECOND AIDS CODE CONSTITUTES A PURELY PROCEDURAL TIME-LIMIT EXCLUSIVELY INTENDED TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE ACTION ON THE PART OF THE COMMISSION AND , IN PARTICULAR , TO ENSURE THAT THE LATTER HAD SUFFICIENT TIME TO CONSIDER WHETHER THE AID PLANS WERE COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMMON MARKET . IT ARGUES THAT THE LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NOTIFICATION DATE MAY BE DETERMINED ONLY IN THE LIGHT OF THE OBJECT OF ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ) AND OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT DATE IN RELATION TO THE OTHER DATES SPECIFIED IN THE SECOND AIDS CODE . THE REAL TIME-LIMIT , IN ITS VIEW , WAS 1 JULY 1983 , THE LAST DATE ON WHICH , ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 2 ( 1 ) OF THE CODE , AID MIGHT BE GRANTED .
44 IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION FROM THE COURT THE COMMISSION EXPLAINED THAT THE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF AID BETWEEN 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 AND 29 JUNE 1983 WAS NOT DUE TO NEW PLANS NOTIFIED AFTER 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 BUT TO INCREASES IN ITEMS WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION BY THE MEMBER STATES .
45 THE FIRST PROBLEM IN THIS CONNECTION IS WHETHER , AS THE APPLICANT MAINTAINS , THE NOTIFICATION DATE SPECIFIED IN ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ) IS SUCH AS TO PRECLUDE THE APPROVAL OF ANY AID PLAN NOTIFIED SUBSEQUENT TO IT .
46 THE COMMISSION ' S ARGUMENT ON THIS POINT CANNOT BE ACCEPTED . ARTICLE 12 OF THE SECOND AIDS CODE EXPRESSLY PROVIDES THAT THE TIME-LIMITS LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 8 ( 1 ) AND ARTICLES 2 , 5 AND 6 MAY NOT BE AMENDED BY THE COMMISSION UNLESS IT PROVES TO BE NECESSARY TO DO SO IN THE LIGHT OF THE MARKET TREND AND THE LEVEL OF PRICES FOR IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTS AND UNLESS THE COUNCIL GIVES ITS CONSENT .
47 CONSEQUENTLY THE COMMISSION WAS NOT ENTITLED TO AUTHORIZE AID IF THE PLANS TO GRANT OR ALTER THE AID HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED TO IT BY 30 SEPTEMBER 1982 .