Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 20 May 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour administrative d’appel de Nantes (France)) — Scott SA, Kimberly Clark SNC, now Kimberly Clark SAS v Ville d’Orléans

(Case C-210/09) (1)

(State aid - Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 - Article 14(3) - Recovery of aid - Principle of effectiveness - Assessments vitiated by a procedural defect - Annulment)

(2010/C 179/21)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour administrative d’appel de Nantes

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Scott SA, Kimberly Clark SNC, now Kimberly Clark SAS

Defendant: Ville d’Orléans

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Cour administrative d’appel de Nantes — Interpretation of Article 14(3) of Council Regulation No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999, laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (OJ 1999 L 83, p. 1) — Aid granted by the French authorities in favour of Scott SA and Kimberly Clark — Obligation to recover immediately the aid declared incompatible with the common market — Effect on that obligation of possible annulment, on grounds of procedural defect, of the assessments issued by the national authorities for the recovery of that aid

Operative part of the judgment

Article 14(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article [88] of the EC Treaty is to be interpreted as not precluding, in circumstances in which amounts corresponding to the aid in question have already been recovered, annulment by the national court of assessments issued in order to recover the unlawful State aid on grounds of there being a procedural defect, where it is possible to rectify that procedural defect under national law. That provision does, however, preclude those amounts being paid once again, even provisionally, to the beneficiary of that aid.

(1)  OJ C 205, 29.8.2009.