Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 21 December 2011 – ACEA v Commission

(Case C-319/09 P)

Appeal – State aid – Aid granted to public utilities – Tax exemptions – Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the common market – Action for annulment – Admissibility – Locus standi – Legal interest – Article 87 EC – Concept of ‘aid’ – Article 88 EC – Concept of ‘new aid’ – Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 – Articles 1 and 14 – Lawfulness of a recovery order – Duty to state reasons

1.                     Actions for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Commission decision prohibiting a sectoral aid scheme – Action brought by an undertaking having received individual aid granted under that scheme and that must be recovered – Admissibility (Art. 230, fourth para., EC) (see paras 54-59)

2.                     Actions for annulment – Legal interest in bringing proceedings – Condition – Action capable of procuring an advantage for the party bringing it – Commission decision on the recovery of State aid (see paras 67-69)

3.                     Appeals – Pleas in law – Inadequate statement of reasons – Reliance by the Court of First Instance on implied reasoning – Whether permissible – Conditions (Art. 225 EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para.) (see para. 82)

4.                     Appeals – Pleas in law – Mistaken assessment of the facts – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 225 EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see paras 114-116)

5.                     Appeals – Pleas in law – Plea directed against a ground of the judgment not necessary in order to support the operative part – Plea in law ineffective (see para. 120)

Re:

Operative part