Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 11 July 2018.Buonotourist Srl v European Commission.State aid — Undertaking operating networks of bus routes in the Regione Campania — Advantage — Service of general economic interest — Compensation for tariff obligations as a result of public service obligations, paid following a decision of a court ruling at final instance — Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the internal market — Existing aid and new aid — Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 — Conditions for exemption from the requirement for notification — Article 4(5) and Article 7(6) of Regulation (EC) No 659/99 — Respective jurisdictions of the Commission and the national courts in respect of the monitoring of State aid — Force of res judicata of a judgment of a higher national court — Temporal application of the rules of substantive law — Legitimate expectations — Legal certainty.Case T-185/15.

Judgment // 11/07/2018 // 3 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 11 July 2018 –Buonotourist v Commission

(Case T‑185/15)

(State aid — Undertaking operating networks of bus routes in the Regione Campania — Advantage — Service of general economic interest — Compensation for tariff obligations as a result of public service obligations, paid following a decision of a court ruling at final instance — Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the internal market — Existing aid and new aid — Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 — Conditions for exemption from the requirement for notification — Article 4(5) and Article 7(6) of Regulation (EC) No 659/99 — Respective jurisdictions of the Commission and the national courts in respect of the monitoring of State aid — Force of res judicata of a judgment of a higher national court — Temporal application of the rules of substantive law — Legitimate expectations — Legal certainty)

  1. Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Amplification of a plea made earlier — Admissibility

(Rules of Procedure of the General Court (1991), Art. 48(2))

(see para. 78)

  1. State aid — Existing aid — Permanent examination by the Commission with the Member States — Legal status in the absence of a finding of incompatibility with the internal market made by the Commission

(Art. 108(1) and (3) TFEU)

(see para. 80)

  1. State aid — Existing aid and new aid — Compensation for public service obligations in relation to regional transport — Exemption from the notification obligation laid down by Article 17(2) of Regulation No 1191/69 — Measure not respecting the material criteria of that regulation — Classification as new aid — Prior obligation notification

(Art. 108 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1191/69, Art. 17(2))

(see paras 92, 106-115, 120)

  1. State aid — Examination by the Commission — No observations by the persons concerned — Not relevant to the validity of the Commission decision — Obligation to examine matters not expressly invoked by the Commission’s own motion — None

(Art. 108(2) TFEU)

(see para. 110)

  1. State aid — Meaning — Measures designed to compensate for the cost of public service missions undertaken by an undertaking — Not included — Conditions set out in the Altmark judgment — Cumulative nature

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 124-128, 132)

  1. State aid — Effect on trade between Member States — Adverse effect on competition — Criteria for assessment

(Art. 107(1) TFEU)

(see paras 141-143)

  1. State aid — Respective powers of the Commission and the national courts — Role of the national courts — Principle of res judicata — Non-enforceability of the principle of res judicata to the recovery of illegal aid — Non-enforceability of the principle of res judicata to a later Commission decision finding the existence of illegal State aid

(Arts 107 (1) TFEU and 108(3) TFEU)

(see paras 183-190)

  1. EU law — Principles — Protection of legitimate expectations — Limits — Application of new rules to the future effects of situations arising during the period of application of previous rules

(see paras 203, 204)

  1. Transport — Aid for transport — Regulation No 1370/2007 — Temporal application — Application to aid paid from the entry into force of the regulation, subject to transitional provisions

(Arts 107 (1) TFEU and 108(3) TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1370/2007; Council Regulation No 1191/69)

(see paras 209-212)

Re:

Application based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of Commission Decision (EU) 2015/1075 of 19 January 2015 on State aid SA.35843 (2014/C) (ex 2012/NN) implemented by Italy — Additional public service compensation for Buonotourist (OJ 2015 L 179, p. 128).

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Buonotourist Srl, in addition to bearing its own costs, to pay those incurred by the European Commission;

  3. Declares that the Associazione Nazionale Autotrasporto Viaggiatori (ANAV) is to bear its own costs.

State aids , Competition