Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 December 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgerichtshof) — Wienstrom GmbH v Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Arbeit

(Case C-384/07) (1)

(State aid - Article 88(3) EC - Aid declared compatible with the common market - Dispute between the aid recipient and the national authorities concerning the amount of aid unlawfully put into effect - Role of the national court)

(2009/C 44/26)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Verwaltungsgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Wienstrom GmbH

Defendant: Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Arbeit

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgerichtshof — Interpretation of Article 88(3) EC — State aid scheme put into effect without prior notification to the Commission, the final amended version of which, however, following its notification, was declared compatible with the common market, without any express negative decision having been taken with regard to the previous non-notified version — Obligations of national courts deriving from the Commission's decision

Operative part of the judgment

The prohibition on putting State aid into effect laid down in the last sentence of Article 88(3) EC does not require a national court, in a situation such as that in the main proceedings, to dismiss an action brought by a State aid recipient concerning the amount of that State aid allegedly due in respect of a period predating a decision of the Commission of the European Communities finding that aid to be compatible with the common market.

(1)  OJ C 283, 24.11.2007.