Reino de España contra Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61996CJ0415
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1998:533
• Docket Number: C-415/96
• Date: 12 November 1998
• Procedure Type: Recurso de anulación - infundado
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)

Avis juridique important

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61996J0415

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 12 November 1998. - Kingdom of Spain v Commission of the European Communities. - State aid for undertakings in the textile sector - Consequences of an annulling judgment for acts preparatory to the act annulled. - Case C-415/96.

European Court reports 1998 Page I-06993

Summary
Parties
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

Actions for annulment - Judgment granting annulment - Effects - Obligation to adopt implementing measures - Scope - Account to be taken of both the grounds and operative part of the judgment - Adoption of a fresh act on the basis of the previous preparatory acts - Whether permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 176)

Summary

According to Article 176 of the Treaty, an institution whose act has been declared void must, in order to comply with the judgment and to implement it fully, have regard not only to the operative part of the judgment but also to the grounds which led to the judgment and constitute its essential basis, in so far as they are necessary to determine the exact meaning of what is stated in the operative part. It is those grounds which, on the one hand, identify the precise provision held to be illegal and, on the other, indicate the specific reasons which underlie the finding of illegality contained in the operative part and which the institution concerned must take into account when replacing the annulled measure.

The procedure for replacing such a measure may thus be resumed at the very point at which the illegality occurred, since annulment of a Community measure does not necessarily affect the preparatory acts leading up to its adoption.

In that case, where the compatibility of State aid with the common market is being examined, the Commission may, without infringing the right to be heard, found its fresh decision exclusively on the information which it had at the time of the adoption of the annulled measure.

Parties

In Case C-415/96,

Kingdom of Spain, represented by Luis Pérez de Ayala Becerril, Abogado del Estado, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Spanish Embassy, 4-6 Boulevard E. Servais,$

applicant,

v

Commission of the European Communities, represented by Francisco Santaolalla, Principal Legal Advisor, and Ramón Vidal Puig, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address for service at the office of Carlos Gómez de la Cruz, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,

defendant,

"APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Decision 97/242/EC of 18 September 1996 amending Decision 92/317/EEC on State aid in favour of Hilaturas y Tejidos Andaluces SA, now called Mediterráneo Técnica Textil SA, and its buyer (OJ 1997 L 96, p. 30),

THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber),

composed of: P.J.G. Kapteyn, President of the Chamber, G. Hirsch (Rapporteur), J.L. Murray, H. Ragnemalm and K.M. Ioannou, Judges,

Advocate General: F.G. Jacobs,

Registrar: R. Grass,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 19 March 1998,

gives the following

Judgment

Grounds

1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 30 December 1996, the Kingdom of Spain brought an action under Article 173 of the EC Treaty for a declaration that Commission Decision 97/242/EC of 18 September 1996 amending Decision 92/317/EEC on State aid in favour of Hilaturas y Tejidos Andaluces SA, now called Mediterráneo Técnica Textil SA, and its buyer (OJ 1997 L 96, p. 30, hereinafter `the contested decision') was void.

2 Hilaturas y Tejidos Andaluces SA (hereinafter `Hytasa') was a limited liability company which, following financial difficulties, was taken over in 1982 by the Patrimonio del Estado (Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance). It made textile products in its plants in and around Seville.

3 In 1989, following a complaint, the Commission requested the Spanish authorities to provide it with information concerning any capital contributions granted to Hytasa from 1986, the year in which the Kingdom of Spain acceded to the Communities. The reply given by the Spanish authorities enabled the Commission to establish that Hytasa had received capital increases amounting to PTA 7 100 million to cover operating losses.

4 In 1990, the Spanish authorities informed the Commission that Hytasa was in the process of being privatised. One of the terms of privatisation was a capital contribution of PTA 4 200 million by the Patrimonio del Estado.

5 In July 1990, the Commission initiated the procedure provided for in Article 93(2) of the EC Treaty in relation to the capital contributions of PTA 7 100 million granted to Hytasa by the Kingdom of Spain between 1986 and 1988 as well as any additional aid granted upon the sale of the undertaking.

6 The Commission considered that the financial assistance constituted aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the EC Treaty and that it did not seem to be covered by the conditions for application of one of the derogations provided for in Article 92(2) and (3) of the Treaty and, by letter of 3 August 1990, notified the Spanish Government of the initiation of the procedure.

7 On 16 October 1990, the Spanish Government submitted its observations in the procedure, arguing, in particular that the sale of Hytasa did not involve aid since the undertaking had been sold to the highest bidder after being offered on the international market. Furthermore, since the undertaking was based in Seville, in an area which could claim regional aid, the derogation provided for in Article 92(3)(a) of the Treaty had to apply.

8 The Spanish authorities replied on 27 March 1991 to observations submitted by third parties on the initiation of the procedure. They also submitted a restructuring plan drawn up by the new owners of Hytasa, which was amended on 13 June 1991.

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