Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 21 December 2011 – Iride, formerly Azienda Mediterranea Gas e Acqua v Commission
(Case C-329/09 P)
Appeal – State aid – Aid granted to public utilities – Tax exemptions – Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the common market – Action for annulment – Admissibility – Standing – Legal interest in bringing proceedings
1. Appeals – Grounds – Mistaken assessment of the facts – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted (Art. 225 EC; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.) (see paras 34-36)
2. Appeals – Classification of an application made by the respondent seeking only the replacement of grounds – Application inadmissible if there is no legal interest in bringing proceedings (see para. 50)
Re:
Appeal brought against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Eighth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 11 June 2009 in Case T‑300/02 AMGA v Commission , by which that court rejected as inadmissible an application for annulment of Articles 2 and 3 of Commission Decision 2003/193/EC of 5 June 2002 on State aid granted by Italy in the form of tax exemptions and subsidised loans to public utilities with a majority public capital holding (OJ 2003 L 77, p. 21).
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the appeal;
2.
Orders Iride SpA to pay the costs of the appeal proceedings;
3.
Orders the European Commission to pay the costs relating to the request for replacement of grounds.
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