Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 15 December 2016 — DEI v Commission

(Case T‑421/09 RENV)

(Competition — Abuse of dominant position — Greek market for the supply of lignite and Greek wholesale electricity market — Decision establishing specific measures to correct the anti-competitive effects of an infringement of Article 86(1) EC, in conjunction with Article 82 EC — Article 86(3) EC — Obligation to state reasons — Proportionality — Freedom of contract)

1.      Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply competition rules

(Art. 253 EC)

(see paras 109, 110)

2.      Actions for annulment — Grounds — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality

(Arts 230 EC and 253 EC)

(see para. 111)

3.      EU law — Principles — Fundamental rights — Contractual freedom — Restrictions — Lawfulness — Conditions — Restrictions made in application of the competition rules

(Art. 6(3) TEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 16; Art. 86(3) EC)

(see paras 130-144)

4.      Competition — Public undertakings and undertakings enjoying special or exclusive rights granted by the Member States — Powers of the Commission by virtue of its duty of surveillance — Decision establishing specific measures to remedy the anti-competitive effects of a breach of the competition rules — No breach of principle of proportionality

(Art. 86(3) EC)

(see paras 147-162)

Re:

APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking the annulment of Commission decision C(2009) 6244 final of 4 August 2009 establishing specific measures to correct the anti-competitive effects of the infringement identified in the Commission Decision of 5 March 2008 on the granting or maintaining in force by the Hellenic Republic of rights in favour of DEI for the extraction of lignite.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Dimosia Epicheirisi Ilektrismou AE (DEI), in addition to bearing its own costs, to pay those incurred by the European Commission;

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