SA Intermills v Commission of the European Communities.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Writing for the Court: Pescatore
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1984:345
• Docket Number: 323/82
• Date: 14 November 1984
• Procedure Type: Recours en annulation - fondé

Avis juridique important

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61982J0323

Judgment of the Court of 14 November 1984. - SA Intermills v Commission of the European Communities. - Aid for the conversion of a paper-manufacturing undertaking. - Case 323/82.

European Court reports 1984 Page 03809
Spanish special edition Page 00833
Swedish special edition Page 00685
Finnish special edition Page 00667

Summary
Parties
Subject of the case
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

1 . AID GRANTED BY STATES - PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY - APPLICATION TO A GROUP OF UNDERTAKINGS CREATED UNDER A RESTRUCTURING PLAN - CONDITIONS .

( EEC TREATY , ART . 92 )

2.AID GRANTED BY STATES - PLANS TO GRANT AID - REVIEW BY THE COMMISSION - HEARING OF THE PARTIES CONCERNED - NOTICE TO THE PARTIES CONCERNED TO SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS - CONCEPT OF ' ' PARTIES CONCERNED ' ' - FORM OF NOTICE

3.AID GRANTED BY STATES - CONCEPT - AID IN THE FORM OF LOANS OR CAPITAL HOLDINGS - FORM IRRELEVANT FOR PURPOSES OF THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 92 OF THE TREATY

( EEC TREATY , ART . 92 ( 1 ) AND ( 3 ))

Summary

1 . IN CONNECTION WITH STATE AID AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 92 OF THE EEC TREATY , A PRE-EXISTING COMPANY AND THREE COMPANIES NEWLY CONSTITUTED , UNDER THE RESTRUCTURING PLAN FINANCED BY THE AID IN QUESTION , TO OPERATE THE FIRST COMPANY ' S PLANT , MAY BE REGARDED AS A SINGLE GROUP , WHERE IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT THE FIRST HAS AN INTEREST IN THE OTHER THREE AND ALL FOUR ARE CONTROLLED BY THE SAME PUBLIC AUTHORITY .

2 . FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 93 ( 2 ) OF THE EEC TREATY , WHICH PROVIDES THAT THE COMMISSION IS TO TAKE A DECISION IN RELATION TO AID GRANTED ' ' AFTER GIVING NOTICE TO THE PARTIES CONCERNED TO SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS ' ' , THE ' ' PARTIES CONCERNED ' ' ARE NOT ONLY THE UNDERTAKING OR UNDERTAKINGS RECEIVING AID BUT EQUALLY THE PERSONS , UNDERTAKINGS OR ASSOCIATIONS WHOSE INTERESTS MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY THE GRANT OF AID , IN PARTICULAR COMPETING UNDERTAKINGS AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS . IN OTHER WORDS , THERE IS AN INDETERMINATE GROUP OF PERSONS TO WHOM NOTICE MUST BE GIVEN .

IT FOLLOWS THAT ARTICLE 93 ( 2 ) DOES NOT REQUIRE INDIVIDUAL NOTICE TO BE GIVEN TO PARTICULAR PERSONS . ITS SOLE PURPOSE IS TO OBLIGE THE COMMISSION TO TAKE STEPS TO ENSURE THAT ALL PERSONS WHO MAY BE CONCERNED ARE NOTIFIED AND GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY OF PUTTING FORWARD THEIR ARGUMENTS . UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES , THE PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL IS AN APPROPRIATE MEANS OF INFORMING ALL THE PARTIES CONCERNED THAT A PROCEDURE HAS BEEN INITIATED .

3 . THE TREATY APPLIES TO AID GRANTED BY A STATE OR THROUGH STATE RESOURCES ' ' IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER ' ' . IT FOLLOWS THAT NO DISTINCTION CAN BE DRAWN BETWEEN AID GRANTED IN THE FORM OF LOANS AND AID GRANTED IN THE FORM OF A HOLDING ACQUIRED IN THE CAPITAL OF AN UNDERTAKING . AID TAKING EITHER FORM FALLS WITHIN THE PROHIBITION LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 92 WHERE THE CONDITIONS SET OUT IN THAT PROVISION ARE FULFILLED .

THE GRANTING OF AID , ESPECIALLY IN THE FORM OF CAPITAL HOLDINGS ACQUIRED BY THE STATE OR BY PUBLIC AUTHORITIES , CANNOT BE REGARDED AS BEING AUTOMATICALLY CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY . THUS , IRRESPECTIVE OF THE FORM IN WHICH AID IS GRANTED , IT IS THE COMMISSION ' S TASK TO EXAMINE WHETHER IT IS CONTRARY TO ARTICLE 92 ( 1 ) AND , IF SO , TO ASSESS WHETHER THERE IS ANY POSSIBILITY OF ITS BEING EXEMPT UNDER ARTICLE 92 ( 3 ), GIVING THE GROUNDS ON WHICH ITS DECISION IS BASED ACCORDINGLY .

Parties

IN CASE 323/82

SA INTERMILLS , WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE IS AT ANDENNE ( BELGIUM ), REPRESENTED BY LEON GOFFIN , JEAN-MARIE DE BACKER AND JEAN-LOUIS LODOMEZ , OF THE BRUSSELS BAR , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE CHAMBERS OF ERNEST ARENDT , 34 B RUE PHILIPPE-II ,

APPLICANT ,

SUPPORTED BY

SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE ANDENNE , WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE IS AT ANDENNE ,

SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE PONT-DE-WARCHE , WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE IS AT MALMEDY ,

SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE STEINBACH , WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE IS AT MALMEDY ,

ALL REPRESENTED BY LEON GOFFIN , JEAN-MARIE DE BACKER AND JEAN-LOUIS LODOMEZ , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE CHAMBERS OF ERNEST ARENDT ,

INTERVENERS ,

V

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , REPRESENTED BY MARIE-JOSE JONCZY , A MEMBER OF ITS LEGAL DEPARTMENT , ACTING AS AGENT , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE OFFICE OF MANFRED BESCHEL , A MEMBER OF ITS LEGAL DEPARTMENT , JEAN MONNET BUILDING , KIRCHBERG ,

DEFENDANT ,

Subject of the case

APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION THAT COMMISSION DECISION 82/670/EEC OF 22 JULY 1982 ON AID GRANTED BY THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT TO A PAPER-MANUFACTURING UNDERTAKING IS VOID ,

Grounds

1 BY AN APPLICATION LODGED AT THE COURT REGISTRY ON 17 DECEMBER 1982 , SA INTERMILLS ( HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS ' ' THE APPLICANT ' ' ), WHOSE REGISTERED OFFICE IS AT ANDENNE , BROUGHT AN ACTION UNDER THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY FOR A DECLARATION THAT COMMISSION DECISION 82/670/EEC OF 22 JULY 1982 ON AID GRANTED BY THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT TO A PAPER-MANUFACTURING UNDERTAKING ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL 1982 , L 280 , P . 30 ) IS VOID .

2 THE APPLICATION WAS SUPPORTED BY THREE UNDERTAKINGS , SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE ANDENNE , SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE PONT-DE-WARCHE AND SA INTERMILLS-INDUSTRIE STEINBACH , WHICH WERE GRANTED LEAVE TO INTERVENE IN THE ACTION BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF 22 JUNE 1983 . THOSE UNDERTAKINGS ARE REFERRED TO HEREINAFTER AS ' ' THE INTERVENERS ' ' , THE EXPRESSION ' ' THE APPLICANTS ' ' BEING USED TO REFER TO THE APPLICANT TOGETHER WITH THE INTERVENERS .

3 IN SO FAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH THE FACTS ON THE BASIS OF THE CONTESTED DECISION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE PAPERS PUT BEFORE THE COURT , A RESTRUCTURING PLAN FINANCED BY AID GRANTED BY THE BELGIAN STATE THROUGH THE WALLOON REGIONAL EXECUTIVE WAS ADOPTED . UNDER THAT PLAN THE APPLICANTS ABANDONED BULK PRODUCTION AND WENT OVER TO THE MANUFACTURE OF SPECIAL PAPERS WITH A HIGH ADDED VALUE . TWO FACTORIES WERE CLOSED , NAMELY THOSE AT SAINT-SERVAIS AND HUIZINGEN ( THE LATTER SITUATED IN FLANDERS AND OPERATED BY ANOTHER UNDERTAKING IN THE GROUP ); AT THE SAME TIME , PRODUCTION AT THE FACTORIES AT ANDENNE , PONT-DE-WARCHE AND STEINBACH WAS REORGANIZED AND ENTRUSTED TO MANUFACTURING UNDERTAKINGS , EACH ENDOWED WITH ITS OWN LEGAL PERSONALITY .

4 THE CONTENTS OF THE CONTESTED DECISION MAY BE SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS :

IN THE COURSE OF 1980 THE COMMISSION LEARNED THAT A PAPER-MANUFACTURING UNDERTAKING HAD RECEIVED FROM THE BELGIAN AUTHORITIES ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF LOANS ( A LOW-INTEREST LOAN OF BFR 1 076 MILLION AND...