1. 

Action for annulment – Action directed against a Commission decision on State aid – Interest in bringing proceedings – Annulment in part of the contested decision in another action brought against that decision – Action seeking the annulment of the annulled parts of the contested decision – Action that has partly become devoid of purpose – No need to adjudicate

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see paragraphs 21-41)

2. 

Action for annulment – Action directed against a Commission decision on State aid – Interest in bringing proceedings – Annulment in part of the contested decision in another action brought against that decision – Action seeking the annulment of the parts of the contested decision that have not been annulled – Continued interest in bringing proceedings

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see paragraphs 42, 43, 45-53)

3. 

Aid granted by a Member State – Concept – Tax measures in favour of certain economic interest groupings and their investors – Tax system applicable to certain finance leasing agreements for the acquisition of ships – Tax scheme made up of several measures linked in fact and in law – Separate assessment of those measures – Not permissible

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paragraphs 59-63)

4. 

Aid granted by a Member State – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the procedural rules of Article 108 TFEU – Legitimate expectations entertained by the recipients – Protection – Conditions

(Art. 108 TFEU)

(see paragraphs 73-83)

5. 

Aid granted by a Member State – Commission decision – Assessment of legality – Commission’s decision-making practice – No effect

(Art. 108(2) TFEU)

(see paragraph 116)

6. 

Aid granted by a Member State – Recovery of unlawful aid – Restoration of the prior situation – Scope – Contractual terms providing for the transfer of the burden of recovering unlawful aid from the recipients of that aid to other persons – Commission having prohibited that transfer and having ordered the recovery of the unlawful aid from the recipients – Infringement of the allocation of powers as between the Member States and the Commission – Infringement of the freedom to conduct a business – None

(Arts 107 and 108 TFEU)

(see paragraphs 89-110, 114, 115, 118-125)

1. 

Rules that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the action in so far as it is directed against Article 1 of Commission Decision 2014/200/EU of 17 July 2013 on the aid scheme SA.21233 C/11 (ex NN/11, ex CP 137/06) implemented by Spain – Tax scheme applicable to certain finance lease agreements, also known as the ‘Spanish Tax Lease System’, inasmuch as it designates the economic interest groupings and their investors as the sole recipients of the aid referred to in that decision, and Article 4(1) of that decision, inasmuch as it orders the Kingdom of Spain to recover in full the amount of the aid referred to in that decision from the economic interest groupings’ investors which benefited from it;

2. 

Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

3. 

Orders each party to bear its own costs.