Appeal brought on 19 July 2016 by the Federal Republic of Germany against the judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 10 May 2016 in Case T-47/15, Federal Republic of Germany v European Commission

(Case C-405/16 P)

(2016/C 326/30)

Language of the case: German

Parties

Appellant: Federal Republic of Germany (represented by: T. Henze and R. Kanitz, Agents, assisted by T. Lübbig, Rechtsanwalt)

Other party to the proceedings: European Commission

Form of order sought

The Federal Republic of Germany claims that the Court should:

Grounds of appeal and main arguments

The appeal is based on three grounds of appeal:

1. First ground of appeal

The judgment of the General Court under appeal failed to have regard for the limits of the definition of aid under Article 107(1) TFEU in the interpretation of ‘State resources’ and State ‘control’ over the financial resources of private undertakings. The judgment under appeal wrongly assumes that ‘authorities’ of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the basis of the requirements of the German Renewable Energy Law, exercise ‘control’, and therefore administrative power, over the financial means of transmission system operators and energy supply undertakings integrated into the existing system in Germany for promoting renewable energies. The General Court ought properly to have recognised that the Renewable Energy Law creates solely private-law contractual relations between single undertakings in the German energy market but establishes no State control over the financial means of those undertakings.

2. Second ground of appeal

The appellant criticises the General Court for having wrongly held that the German Renewable Energy Law provides an advantage amounting to aid to energy-intensive undertakings as final consumers. In so holding, the General Court failed to have regard for the case-law relating to structural disadvantages and also to the criterion of the selectivity of aid.

3. Third ground of appeal

Finally, the appellant complains of insufficient reasoning in the judgment with regard to the positions of both transmission systems operators and energy supply undertakings.