Judgment of the General Court of 21 May 2010 - France v Commission

(Case T-425/04, T-444/04, T-450/04 and T-456/04) ¹

(State aid - Financial measures in favour of France Télécom - Draft shareholder's advance - Public declarations by a member of the French Government - Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the common market and not ordering its recovery - Action for annulment - Interest in bringing proceedings - Admissibility - Meaning of State Aid - Advantage - State resources - Duty to state reasons)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicants: (in Case T-425/04) French Republic (represented by: initially, G. de Bergues, R. Abraham and S. Ramet, subsequently, E. Belliard, M. de Bergues and S. Ramet and lastly, E. Belliard, M. de Bergues, A.-L. Vendrolini and J.-C. Niollet, Agents); (in Case T-444/04) France Télécom SA (Paris, France) (represented by: initially, A. Gosset-Grainville and S. Hautbourg, subsequently, S. Hautbourg, lawyers); (in Case T-450/04) Bouygues SA (Paris); Bouygues Télécom SA (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) (represented by: J. Vogel, F. Sureau, D. Théophile and J. Blouet Gaillard, lawyers); and (in Case T-456/04) Association française des opérateurs de réseaux et services de telecommunications (AFORS Télécom) (Paris) (represented by O. Fréget, F. Herrenschmidt, M. Struys and L. Eskenazi, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: C. Giolito and J. Buendía Sierra and subsequently C. Giolito and D. Grespan, Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant: (in Cases T-450/04 and T-456/04) French Republic (represented by: (in Case T-450/04) E. Belliard, M. de Bergues, A.-L. Vendrolini and J.-C Niollet, and (in Case T-456/04) M. de Bergues, Agents); (in Case T-444/04) Bouygues SA (Paris); Bouygues Télécom SA (Boulogne-Billancourt) (represented by: J. Vogel, F. Sureau, D. Théophile and J. Blouet Gaillard, lawyers); and (in Cases T-450/04 and T-456/04) France Télécom SA (Paris) (represented by: initially, A. Gosset-Grainville and S. Hautbourg, subsequently, by S. Hautbourg, lawyers)

Re:

Actions for annulment of Commission Decision 2006/621/EC of 2 August 2004 on the State Aid implemented by France for France Télécom (OJ 2006 L 257, p. 11).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Annuls Article 1 of Commission Decision 2006/621/EC of 2 August 2004 on the State Aid implemented by France for France Télécom;

Declares that it is no longer necessary to adjudicate on the claims for annulment of Article 2 of Decision 2006/621;

In Cases T-425/04 and T-444/04, orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the French Republic and by France Télécom SA;

In Cases T-425/04 and T-444/04, orders Bouygues SA and Bouygues Télécom SA to bear their own costs;

In Cases T-450/04, orders Bouygues SA and Bouygues Télécom SA to bear their own costs and to pay half of the costs incurred by the Commission;

In Case T-450/04, orders the Commission to bear half of its own costs;

In Case T-456/04, orders the Association française des opérateurs de réseaux et services de télécommunications (AFORS Télécom) and the Commission to bear their own costs ;

In Cases T-450/04 and T-456/04, orders French Republic and France Télécom to bear their own costs.

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¹ - OJ C 19, 22. 1. 2005.