Judgment of the General Court of 10 July 2012 - TF1 and Others v Commission

(Case T-520/09) 

(State aid - Public service broadcasting - Aid intended to be granted by the French Republic to France Télévisions - Budgetary grant for 2009 - Decision not to raise objections - Service of general economic interest - Criterion of proportionality - No serious difficulties)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicants: Télévision française 1 (TF1) (Boulogne-Billancourt, France); Métropole télévision (M6) (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France); and Canal + (Issy-les-Moulineaux, France) (represented by: J.P. Hordies and C. Smits, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: B. Stromsky and D. Grespan, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant: French Republic (represented by: G. de Bergues and J. Gstalter, acting as Agents); and France Télévisions (Paris, France) (represented by: J.P. Gunther and A. Giraud, lawyers)

Re:

Application for annulment of the Commission's decision of 1 September 2009 concerning a budgetary grant in favour of France Télévisions in so far as the Commission raises no objections in that decision regarding a budgetary grant of a maximum amount of EUR 450 million for 2009.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Dismisses the action as unfounded;

Orders Télévision française 1 (TF1), Métropole télévision (M6) and Canal + to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission and France Télévisions;

Orders the French Republic to bear its own costs.

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¹ - OJ C 80, 27.3.2010.