Commission of the European Communities v Salzgitter AG.
Date: 2008-04-22
32. Also, it is clear from consistent case-law that Articles 4 CS and 67 CS concern two distinct areas, the first abolishing and prohibiting certain actions by Member States in the field which the ECSC Treaty places under Community jurisdiction, the second intended to prevent the distortion of competition which exercise of the residual powers of the Member States inevitably entails (see Banks , paragraph 88, and the case-law cited there). The Court deduces from this that Article 67 CS covers general measures which Member States may adopt in the context of their economic and social policy and measures taken by Member States which apply to industries other than coal and steel but which are capable of having significant repercussions on the conditions of competition in those industries (see Banks , paragraph 88).
34. The Court has also held that the first indent of Article 67(2) CS, which, by derogation from Article 4 CS, allows the granting of State aid in respect of protective measures to undertakings referred to in Article 80 CS, does not distinguish between aid specific to the coal and steel industry and aid which applies to it as the result of a general measure ( Commission  v France , paragraph 43). The Court accordingly held that a preferential rediscount rate for exports constitutes aid which, in the case in point, had to be authorised by the Commission under Article 67(2) CS in so far as it concerned the industry covered by the ECSC Treaty (see Commission  v France , paragraph 44).
55. That is a question of law subject to review by the Court of Justice on an appeal (C‑166/95 P Commission  v Daffix  [1997] ECR I‑983).
56. According to settled case-law relating to Article 253 EC, which can be applied to Article 15 CS, the statement of reasons required for an act with adverse effects must be appropriate to the measure at issue and must disclose in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasoning followed by the institution which adopted the measure in such a way as to enable the persons concerned to ascertain the reasons for it and to enable the Court to carry out its review. It is not necessary for the reasoning to go into all the relevant facts and points of law, since the question whether the statement of reasons meets the requirements of Article 253 EC must be assessed with regard not only to its wording but also to its context and to all the legal rules governing the matter in question (see C‑501/00 Spain  v Commission  [2004] ECR I‑6717, paragraph 73, and the case-law cited).
88. It follows from this that the EC Treaty and the ECSC Treaty are independent treaties and that, consequently, the EC Treaty and the secondary legislation enacted on the basis of it cannot produce effects in areas that fall within the scope of the ECSC Treaty (see, to that effect, Joined Cases 188/80 to 190/80 France and Others v Commission  [1982] ECR 2545, paragraph 31). The provisions of the EC Treaty only apply in the alternative, in situations in which there is no specific rule under the ECSC Treaty (see, in particular, Case 328/85 Deutsche Babcock [1987] ECR 5119, paragraphs 6 to 14).
92. The Court has also held that the compatibility of aid with the common market can be assessed, in the context of the Steel Aid Codes, only in the light of the rules in force on the date on which it is actually paid ( Falck and Acciaierie di Bolzano  v Commission , paragraph 117).
100. Admittedly, the Court has held that, even if the Community legislature has not laid down any period of limitation, the fundamental requirement of legal certainty has the effect of preventing the Commission from indefinitely delaying the exercise of its powers (see, to that effect, 52/69 Geigy  v Commission  [1972] ECR 787, paragraph 21, and, as regards State aid falling within the scope of the ECSC Treaty, Falck and Acciaierie di Bolzano  v Commission , paragraphs 140 and 141).
104. Howe ver, it must not be forgotten that the notification of State aid is a central element of Community rules for supervising that aid and that undertakings to which such aid has been granted may not entertain a legitimate expectation that the aid is lawful if it has not been granted in compliance with that procedure ( Alcan Deutschland , paragraph 25).
105. It must also be taken into consideration that the particularly strict nature of the State aid regime under the ECSC Treaty sets it apart from the State aid regime under the EC Treaty (see, in this respect, Falck and Acciaierie di Bolzano  v Commission , paragraphs 101 and 102).