Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 13 December 2018.Ryanair DAC, formerly Ryanair Ltd and Airport Marketing Services Ltd v European Commission.State aid — Agreements between the Syndicat mixte des aéroports de Charente and Ryanair and its subsidiary Airport Marketing Services — Airport services — Marketing services — Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery — Notion of State aid — Imputability to the State — Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Advantage — Private investor test — Recovery — Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights — Right of access to the file — Right to be heard.Case T-111/15.

Judgment // 13/12/2018 // 3 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 13 December 2018 — Ryanair and Airport Marketing Services v Commission

(Case T‑111/15)

(State aid — Agreements between the Syndicat mixte des aéroports de Charente and Ryanair and its subsidiary Airport Marketing Services — Airport services — Marketing services — Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery — Notion of State aid — Imputability to the State — Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Advantage — Private investor test — Recovery — Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights — Right of access to the file — Right to be heard)

  1. State aid — Administrative procedure — Obligations of the Commission — Possibility for the beneficiary of aid to rely on rights as extensive as defence rights as such — Absence — Right of the beneficiary of aid to be sufficiently associated with the proceedings — Scope

(Art. 108(2) TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41)

(see paras 53-56, 58, 69, 72)

  1. State aid — Concept — Aid granted by regional or local bodies — Included — Mixed airport consortium — Classification of that entity as both a public authority and beneficiary of aid — No error of law

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 96-103, 130-136)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment according to the private-investor test — Complex evaluation of economic matters — Discretion of the Commission — Judicial review — Limits

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 142-145)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment according to the private-investor test — Assessment of all factors relevant to the transaction at issue and its context — No hierarchy between the comparative analysis method and other methods of assessment

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 153-157)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment in the light of Article 107(1) TFEU — Taking into account previous practice — Not included

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 172, 372)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment according to the private-investor test — Assessment of all factors relevant to the transaction at issue and its context — Airport services and marketing agreements — Taking into account the foreseeable negative performance — Whether permissible — Analysis of the profitability of the agreements

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 179-192, 253-280, 296-324, 342-370, 381-388)

  1. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Commission decision on State aid — Examination of the private-investor test — Requirement for specific reasoning in respect of each technical choice or element for which figures given — None

(Art. 296 TFEU)

(see paras 196-203)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment according to the private-investor test — Assessment of all factors relevant to the transaction at issue and its context — Taking into account the information available at the time the decision was taken relating to the measure at issue — Commission’s investigation obligations — Scope

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 218-228)

  1. State aid — Concept — Assessment according to the private-investor test — Assessment of all factors relevant to the transaction at issue and its context — Airport services and marketing agreements — Comparative analysis — Scope

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 282-285)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU seeking the partial annulment of Commission Decision (EU) 2015/1226 of 23 July 2014 on State aid SA.33963 (2012/C) (ex 2012/NN) implemented by France in favour of Angoulême Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SNC-Lavalin, Ryanair and Airport Marketing Services (OJ 2015 L 201, p. 48).

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Ryanair DAC and Airport Marketing Services Ltd to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.

Competition , State aids