Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 31 May 2018.Groningen Seaports NV and Others v European Commission.State aid — Corporate tax exemption granted by the Netherlands to six Dutch public seaports — Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the internal market — Obligation to state reasons — Equal treatment.Case T-160/16.

Judgment // 31/05/2018 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 31 May 2018 –Groningen Seaports and Others v Commission

(Case T‑160/16)

(State aid — Corporate tax exemption granted by the Netherlands to six Dutch public seaports — Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the internal market — Obligation to state reasons — Equal treatment)

  1. Actions for annulment—Jurisdiction of the EU judicature—Defunct legal person that is the addressee of a decision of an EU institution—Action for annulment capable of being brought by the addressee’s successor

(Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU)

(see para. 59)

  1. State aid—Commission decision finding aid incompatible with the internal market—Obligation to state reasons—Scope

(Art. 296, second para., TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41)

(see paras 78, 91)

  1. Member States—Obligations—Infringement—Justification based on the possible failure to fulfil obligations of another Member State—Not permissible

(see para. 97)

  1. Judicial proceedings—Application initiating proceedings—Formal requirements—Identification of the subject-matter of the dispute—Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based—Abstract statement—Inadmissibility

(Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d))

(see para. 113)

  1. EU law—Principles—Equal treatment—Need to comply with the principle of legality—Impossible to rely on an unlawful act committed in favour of a third party

(see para. 116)

  1. EU law—Principles—Equal treatment—Infringement—Meaning

(see para. 119)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision (EU) 2016/634 of 21 January 2016 on aid measure SA.25338 (2014/C) (ex E 3/2008 and ex CP 115/2004) implemented by the Netherlands — Corporate tax exemption for public undertakings (OJ 2016 L 113, p. 148).

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Grants Havenbedrijf Moerdijk NV leave to replace Havenschap Moerdijk as applicant;

  2. Dismisses the action;

  3. Orders Groningen Seaports NV and the other applicants whose names appear in the annex to bear their own costs and those incurred by the European Commission;

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

Competition , State aids