Action brought on 11 February 2010 - Phoenix-Reisen and DRV v Commission
(Case T-58/10)
Language of the case: German
Parties
Applicants: Phoenix-Reisen GmbH (Bonn, Germany) and Deutscher Reiseverband eV (DRV) (Berlin, Germany) (represented by: R. Gerharz, lawyer)
Defendant: European Commission
Form of order sought
Annul the defendant's decision of 20 November 2009, notified by letter of 11 December 2009, by which it refused to take action against State aid granted by the Federal Republic of Germany in the form of insolvency payments;
Order the defendant to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
The applicants' action is directed against Commission Decision C(2009) 8707 final of 19 November 2009 concerning State aid NN 55/2009 - Germany; alleged State aid in the form of insolvency payments and the financing thereof. The Commission came to the conclusion in that decision that the measure in question does not constitute State aid for the purposes of Article 87(1) EC.
In support of their claim, the applicants maintain that the subsidisation of insolvent undertakings cannot be justified on the basis of Directive 80/987/EEC
1 as it serves solely to protect the employees of the insolvent undertaking, not the undertaking itself. The applicants take the view that the legal practice applied in the Federal Republic of Germany is such that insolvent undertakings profit directly from insolvency payments. Furthermore, the applicants submit that examples from other countries in the Community show that Directive 80/987/EEC can be transposed without competitors being unlawfully subsidised as a result.