Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 13 June 2013 — Ryanair v Commission

(Case C‑287/12 P)

Appeal — State aid — Loan granted by the Italian Republic to the airline company Alitalia — Decision declaring the aid unlawful and incompatible — Sale of assets of Alitalia — Decision finding no aid at the conclusion of the preliminary examination phase — Action for annulment — Locus standi — Interested party — Admissibility — Serious difficulties — Competence — Duty to state reasons

1.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Commission decision declaring State aid to be compatible with the common market without initiating the formal investigation procedure — Action brought by the parties concerned within the meaning of Article 88(2) EC — Identification of the subject-matter of the action — Action designed to safeguard the procedural rights of the persons concerned — Pleas capable of being invoked (Arts 88(2) EC and 230, fourth para. EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Arts 1(h), 4(3) and 6(1)) (see para. 60)

2.                     Appeals — Grounds — Assessment of the economic advantage granted by an aid measure — Plea requiring an appraisal of the facts falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the General Court and not subject, save where they have been distorted, to review by the Court of Justice (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58) (see para. 78)

3.                     Appeals — Grounds — Plea directed against a superfluous ground — Invalid plea in law — Rejection (see para. 86)

4.                     Appeals — Grounds — Inadequate statement of reasons — Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning — Lawfulness — Conditions (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 36 and 53, first para.) (see para. 110)

Re:

Appeal brought against the judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 28 March 2012 in Case T‑123/09 Ryanair v Commission , by which the General Court dismissed an action seeking, first, the annulment in part of Commission Decision C(2008) 6743 of 12 November 2008 on the loan of EUR 300 million granted by Italy to Alitalia (Aid No C 26/08) (ex NN 31/08) (OJ 2009 L 52, p. 3), in so far as that decision did not order the recovery of the aid from Alitalia’s successors, and, second, the annulment of Commission Decision C(2008) 6745 final of 12 November 2008 declaring that the procedure for selling off the assets of the Alitalia airline company, in the context of the extraordinary administrative procedure set to lead to the liquidation of that airline, does not constitute State aid, provided that the Italian authorities respect their commitments to ensure that the transactions will be carried out at the market price (Aid N 510/2008) (OJ 2009 C 46, p. 6).

Operative part :

The Court:

1. Dismisses the appeal;

2. Orders Ryanair Ltd to bear, in addition to its own costs, the costs incurred by the European Commission and Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana SpA;

3. Orders the Italian Republic to bear its own costs.