1. 

State aid – Prohibition – Exceptions – Aid capable of being regarded as compatible with the internal market – Aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State – Aid scheme seeking to grant support to undertakings for their fixed costs in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak – Financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises only – Assessment of the compatibility with the internal market – Criteria – Objective of the aid scheme – Proportionality of the aid

(Art. 107(3)(b) TFEU)

(see paragraphs 26-31, 33-36)

2. 

Judicial proceedings – Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings – Plea raised for the first time at the reply stage – Inadmissibility

(Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84(2))

(see paragraph 43)

3. 

State aid – Prohibition – Exceptions – Aid capable of being regarded as compatible with the internal market – Aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State – Aid scheme seeking to grant support to undertakings for their fixed costs in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak – Financial support entailing a difference in treatment between certain undertakings – Justification – Breach of the principle of equal treatment – None

(Art. 107(3)(b) TFEU)

(see paragraphs 46-54)

4. 

State aid – Prohibition – Exceptions – Aid capable of being regarded as compatible with the internal market – Aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State – Aid measure that does not make good the entirety of the damage caused by the exceptional occurrence – Whether permissible

(Art. 107(3)(b) TFEU)

(see paragraphs 55, 57)

5. 

State aid – Commission decision not to raise objections to an aid scheme – Obligation to state reasons – Scope – Consideration of the context and all the legal rules governing the matter

(Arts 107(3)(b) and 296 TFEU)

(see paragraphs 64-70)

1. 

Dismisses the action;

2. 

Orders Bastion Holding BV and the other applicant parties whose names are listed in the annex to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;

3. 

Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to bear its own costs.