Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 18 January 2012 – Djebel – SGPS v Commission

(Case T-422/07)

State aid – Aid scheme designed to promote modern and competitive entrepreneurial strategies – Planned aid for a commercial company in the form of a soft loan in order to help finance an investment by that company in Brazil – Decision declaring aid to be incompatible with the common market – Duty to state reasons – Impairment of competition – Effect on trade between Member States – Equal treatment

1.                     Actions for annulment – Jurisdiction of the EU judicature – Claim seeking that directions be issued to an institution – Claim for a declaratory judgment – Inadmissibility (Art. 230 EC) (see para. 50)

2.                     State aid – Commission decision finding aid to be incompatible with the common market – Duty to state reasons – Scope – Decision in line with previous decisions – Summary reasoning – Decision going well beyond previous decisions – Express reasoning (Arts 87(1) EC and 253 EC) (see paras 52-54, 57-58, 70)

3.                     State aid – Effect on trade between Member States – Adverse effect on competition – Criteria for assessment – Small size and limited extent of aid not a priori excluding the possibility of trade being affected (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 81-85, 88-90, 97, 100)

4.                     State aid – Prohibition – Exceptions – Discretion of the Commission – Judicial review (Art. 87(3) EC) (see paras 107-108)

5.                     State aid – Prohibition – Exceptions – Aid eligible for the derogation laid down in Article 87(3)(c) EC – Aid not needed or having an incentive effect – Exclusion (Art. 87(3)(c) EC) (see paras 118-124)

6.                     State aid – General aid scheme approved by the Commission – Approval subject to a reservation requiring individual notification of certain aids – Examination of such a notified aid having regard only to the rules of the Treaty (see paras 144, 147-149)

7.                     State aid – Concept – Assessment according to the criterion of the private investor – Capital contribution (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 157-158)

8.                     State aid – Commission decision – Assessment of legality by reference to the information available at the time of adoption of the decision – Foreseeable development of competition to be taken into account (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 168-170)

9.                     State aid – Administrative procedure – Obligations of the Commission – Duty to act within a reasonable time – Criteria for assessment – Infringement – Consequences – Annulment of the decision where defence rights infringed (Art. 88(2) EC) (see paras 174-176)

10.                     Union law – Principles – Protection of legitimate expectations – Possibility of the Commission taking account of the development of the common market in relation to a previous decision – No breach of the principle of equal treatment (see paras 199-200, 202-203)

Re:

Operative part

The Court: