Judgment of the General Court of 5 October 2020 – France and IFP Énergies nouvelles v Commission
(Joined Cases T-479/11 RENV and T-157/12 RENV) 1
(State aid – Oil exploration – State aid scheme implemented by France ‐ Implied and unlimited guarantee conferred by IFPEN by the grant of the status of EPIC – Advantage – Presumption of the existence of an advantage – Proportionality)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicant in Case T-479/11 RENV: French Republic (represented by: P. Dodeller, acting as Agent)
Applicant in Case T-157/12 RENV: IFP Énergies nouvelles (Rueil-Malmaison, France) (represented by: E. Lagathu and É. Barbier de La Serre, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: B. Stromsky and D. Grespan, acting as Agents)
Re:
Application based on Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of Commission Decision of 29 June 2011 on State aid granted by France to the Institut Français du Pétrole (Case C 35/08 (ex NN 11/08)) (OJ 2012 L 14, p.1).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls Article 5(3) and (4) and Article 6(1) in so far as it concerns the maximum impact of the State guarantee as estimated in Article 5(3) and (4) of Commission Decision 2012/26/EU of 29 June 2011 on State aid granted by France to the Institut Français du Pétrole (Case C 35/08 (ex NN 11/08);
Dismisses the actions as to the remainder;
Orders the European Commission, the French Republic and IFP Énergies nouvelles each to bear their own costs in Cases T-479/11 and T-157/12;
Orders the French Republic, IFP Énergies nouvelles and the Commission each to bear their own costs in Case C-438/16 P;
Orders the French Republic to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Commission in Case T-479/11 RENV;
Orders IFP Énergies nouvelles and the Commission each to bear their own costs in Case T-157/12 RENV.
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1 OJ C 340, 19.11.2011.