Judgment of the General Court of 16 September 2013 – Orange v Commission
(Case T-258/10) 1
(State Aid – Compensation for public service costs in connection with a very high-speed broadband electronic communications network in the Hauts-de-Seine department – Decision finding no State aid – Failure to initiate the formal investigation procedure – Serious difficulties – Altmark judgment – Service of general economic interest – Market failure – Overcompensation)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicant: Orange, formerly France Télécom (Paris, France) (represented: initially by M van der Woude and D. Gillet, and subsequently by D. Gillet and H. Viaene, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: B. Stromsky and C. Urraca Caviedes, acting as Agents)
Interveners in support of the defendant: The French Republic (represented: initially by G. de Bergues and J. Gstalter, and subsequently by D. Colas and J. Bousin, acting as Agents); the Hauts-de-Seine department (France) (represented by: J.-D. Bloch and G. O’Mahony, lawyers); and Sequalum SAS (Puteaux, France) (represented by: L. Feldman, lawyer)
Re:
Application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2009) 7426 final of 30 September 2009 concerning the compensation for public service costs for the establishment and operation of a very high-speed broadband electronic communications network in the Hauts-de-Seine department (State Aid N 331/2008 – France).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Orange to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission;
Orders the Hauts-de-Seine department, Sequalum SAS and the French Republic to pay their own costs.
________________________1 OJ C 234, 28.8.2010.