Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 19 May 2015 —
Diputación Foral de Bizkaia v Commission
(Case T‑397/12)
State aid — Construction — Aid provided by the Spanish authorities to the company Habidite — Agreements concluded with a view to the establishment of a factory manufacturing construction modules and the delivery of modular houses manufactured by that factory –– Decision declaring the aid unlawful –– Decision declaring the aid partly compatible and partly incompatible with the internal market — No prior notification — Rights of the defence — Obligation to give reasons
1. State aid — Concept — Aid from State resources (Arts 107(1) TFEU and 108 TFEU) (see paras 31, 32)
2. State aid — General aid scheme approved by the Commission — Individual aid falling within the temporal scope of that scheme — Determination — Date of the legally binding act committing the competent national authority to front the aid (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 33, 42, 43)
3. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Administrative procedure — Commission obligation to give the parties concerned, and therefore the infra-State bodies, notice to submit their comments — Limits (Art. 108(2) TFEU) (see paras 53-57, 63, 64)
4. State aid — Commission decision to open a formal investigation procedure in respect of a State measure provisionally classified as new aid — Obligation to state reasons — Scope (Art. 108(2) TFEU; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 6) (see para. 58)
5. State aid — Examination by the Commission — Decision to open the formal investigation procedure under Article 108(2) TFEU — Evolution of the Commission’s position at the conclusion of the procedure — Divergence between the opening decision and the final decision — Lawfulness (Art. 108(2) TFEU; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 7) (see paras 59, 60, 65)
6. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope (Art. 296 TFEU) (see paras 68, 69)
Re:
| ACTION for partial annulment of Commission Decision C(2012) 4194 final of 27 June 2012 concerning State aid SA.28356 (C 37/2009) (ex N 226/2009). |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Diputación Foral de Bizkaia to bear the costs. |