Appeal brought on 14 December 2023 by the European Commission against the judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) delivered on 27 September 2023 in Case T-253/15, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona v Commission
(Case C-778/23 P)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Appellant: European Commission (represented by: B. Stromsky, C. Urraca Caviedes and P. Němečková, acting as Agents)
Other party to the proceedings: Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, SA
Form of order sought
The appellant claims that the Court of Justice should:
annul the judgment of the General Court of 27 September 2023 in Case Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona v European Commission (T-253/15, EU:T:2023:585);
dismiss the action for annulment in Case T-253/15 (Aguas de Barcelona v Commission); and
order the applicant at first instance to bear its own costs and to pay the costs incurred by the European Commission in respect of both the proceedings at first instance and the present appeal.
Grounds of appeal and main arguments
The appellant relies on three grounds of appeal and submits that the General Court made the following errors of law:
Error of law as to the scope of the initial decisions in that it failed to take into account the information provided by the Member State (first ground of appeal);
Error of law as to the relevance of a binding administrative practice in that it held that it could not extend the scope of an aid scheme (second ground of appeal); and
Error of law in the interpretation and application of the principle of legitimate expectations to the aid scheme at issue (third ground of appeal).
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