Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 22 October 2008 - TV 2/Danmark v Commission

(Joined Cases T-309/04, T-317/04, T-329/04 and T-336/04) ¹

(State aid - Measures implemented by the Danish authorities for the public broadcaster TV2 to finance its public service remit - Measures classified as State aid partly compatible and partly incompatible with the common market - Actions for annulment - Admissibility - Interest in bringing proceedings - Rights of the defence - Public broadcasting service - Definition and financing - State resources - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Obligation to examine)

Language of the case: English and Danish

Parties

Applicant in Case T-309/04: TV 2/Danmark A/S (Odense, Denmark) (represented by: O. Koktvedgaard and M. Thorninger, Lawyers)

Intervener in support of the applicant in Case T-309/04: European Broadcasting Union (EBU) (Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland) (represented by: A. Carnelutti, Lawyer)

Applicant in Case T-317/04: Kingdom of Denmark (represented by: J. Molde, Agent, assisted by P. Biering and K. Lundgaard Hansen, Lawyers)

Applicant in Case T-329/04: Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd (West Drayton, Middlesex, United Kingdom) (S. Hjelmborg and M. Honoré, Lawyers)

Interveners in support of the applicant in Case T-329/04: SBS TV A/S, formerly TV Danmark A/S (Skovlunde, Denmark); and SBS Danish Television Ltd, formerly Kanal 5 Denmark Ltd (Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom) (represented by: D. Vandermeersch, K.-U. Karl and H. Peytz, Lawyers)

Applicants in Case T-336/04: SBS TV A/S and SBS Danish Television Ltd

Intervener in support of the applicanst in Case T-336/04: Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd

Defendant in Cases T-309/04, T-317/04, T-329/04 and T-336/04: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: in Cases T-309/04, T-317/04 and T-329/04 by H. Støvlbæk and M. Niejahr, in Case T-329/04, also by N. Kahn and in Case T-336/04 by N. Kahn and M. Niejahr, Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant in Case T-309/04: SBS TV A/S; SBS Danish Television Ltd and Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd

Interveners in support of the defendant in Case T-329/04 and T-336/04: Kingdom of Denmark; TV 2/Danmark A/S and European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

Re:

APPLICATION, in Cases T-309/04 and T-317/04, for annulment of Commission Decision 2006/217/EC of 19 May 2004 on measures implemented by Denmark for TV 2/Danmark (OJ 2006 L 85, p. 1; corrigendum in OJ 2006 L 368, p. 112) and, in the alternative, of Article 2 of that decision or of paragraphs 3 and 4 of that Article, and, in Cases T-329/04 and T-336/04, for annulment of that decision in so far as it establishes the existence of State aid which is partly compatible with the common market.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Joins Cases T-309/04, T-317/04, T-329/04 and T-336/04 for the purposes of the judgment;

Annuls Commission Decision 2006/217/EC of 19 May 2004 on measures implemented by Denmark for TV 2/Danmark;

Orders TV 2/Danmark A/S, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Commission each to bear their own costs in Cases T-309/04 R and T-317/04 R;

Orders the Commission to bear its own costs in Cases T-309/04 and T-317/04, together with the costs incurred by TV 2/Danmark A/S and the Kingdom of Denmark in those cases;

Orders the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), SBS TV A/S, SBS Danish Television Ltd and Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd each to bear their own costs in Case T-309/04;

Orders SBS TV, SBS Danish Television and Viasat Broadcasting UK each to bear their own costs, incurred both in their capacity as applicants and in their capacity as interveners, in Cases T-329/04 and T-336/04;

Orders Viasat Broadcasting UK to pay one-tenth of the costs incurred by the Commission, by TV 2/Danmark A/S, by the Kingdom of Denmark and by the EBU in Case T-329/04;

Orders SBS TV and SBS Danish Television to pay one-tenth of the costs incurred by the Commission, by TV 2/Danmark A/S, by the Kingdom of Denmark and by the EBU in Case T-336/04;

Orders the Commission, TV 2/Danmark A/S, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EBU each to bear nine-tenths of their own costs in Cases T-329/04 and T-336/04.

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¹ - OJ C 262, 23.10.2004.