CURIA - Documents

Home > Search form > List of results > Documents

Start printing

Language of document : ECLI:EU:T:2018:274

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 16 May 2018 –
Netflix International and Netflix v Commission

(Case T‑818/16)

(Action for annulment — State aid — Aid planned by Germany to fund film production and distribution — Decision declaring aid compatible with the internal market — Act not of individual concern — Regulatory act entailing implementing measures — Inadmissibility)

1. Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Regulatory acts — Acts not comprising implementing measures and concerning the applicant directly — Concept of implementing measures — Criteria — Commission decision declaring an aid scheme compatible with the internal market — Effects produced through the intermediary of measures taken by the national authorities — Acts constituting implementing measures

(Arts 263, fourth para., TFEU and 267 TFEU)

(see paras 27-30, 33-36)

2. Fundamental rights — Right to effective judicial protection — Review of legality of EU measures — Procedures — Protection of that right by the EU judicature or by the national courts according to the legal nature of the contested measure

(Art. 19(1) TEU; Arts 263, fourth para., TFEU, 267 TFEU and 277 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 47 and 51(1))

(see paras 38-41)

3. Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Individual concern — Criteria — Commission decision declaring State aid compatible with the internal market — Action of an economic operator on the relevant market, but not justifying that its market position was substantially affected — Inadmissibility

(Arts 108(2) TFEU and 263, fourth para., TFUE)

(see paras 52-63)

4. Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Commission decision declaring State aid compatible with the internal market — Action by interested parties within the meaning of Article 108(2) TFEU — Admissibility — Conditions — Participation in the preliminary examination phase of the aid — Insufficient basis on which to contest the merits of the decision

(Arts 108(2) TFEU and 263, fourth para., TFEU)

(see paras 66-68)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision (EU) 2016/2042 of 1 September 2016 on the aid scheme SA.38418 — 2014/C (ex 2014/N) which Germany is planning to implement for the funding of film production and distribution (OJ 2016 L 314, p. 63).

Operative part

The Court:

Dismisses the action as inadmissible;

Declares that there is no need to rule on the applications to intervene lodged by the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Filmförderungsanstalt;

Orders Netflix International BV and Netflix, Inc. to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, with the exception of those relating to the applications to intervene;

Declares that there is no need to rule on the applications to intervene lodged by the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Filmförderungsanstalt;

Orders Netflix International BV and Netflix, Inc. to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, with the exception of those relating to the applications to intervene;

Orders Netflix International, Netflix, the Commission, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Filmförderungsanstalt each to bear their own costs relating to the applications to intervene.

Orders Netflix International BV and Netflix, Inc. to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, with the exception of those relating to the applications to intervene;