Judgment of the General Court of 24 March 2011 - Freistaat Sachsen and Others v Commission
(Joined Cases T-443/08 and T-455/08) 1 (State aid - Aid for Leipzig/Halle Airport - Funding of investments relating to the construction of the new southern runway - Decision declaring aid compatible with the common market - Actions for annulment - No interest in bringing proceedings - Inadmissibility - Concept of 'undertaking' - Concept of 'economic activity' - Airport infrastructure)
Language of the case: German
Parties
Applicants: Freistaat Sachsen (Germany) and Land Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany) (represented by U. Soltész, lawyer) (Case T-443/08); Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG (Leipzig, Germany) and Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH) (Leipzig) (represented by: M. Núñez-Müller, lawyer) (Case T-455/08)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: K. Gross, B. Martenczuk and E. Righini, Agents)
Interveners in support of the applicants: Federal Republic of Germany (represented by M. Lumma and B. Klein, Agents); and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen eV (ADV) (represented by L. Giesberts, lawyer)
Re:
Application for partial annulment of Commission Decision 2008/948/EC of 23 July 2008 on measures by Germany to assist DHL and Leipzig/Halle Airport (OJ 2008 L 346, p. 1).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Joins Cases T-443/08 and T-455/08 for the purposes of judgment;
Dismisses the action in Case T-443/08 as inadmissible;
Annuls Article 1 of Commission Decision 2008/948/EC of 23 July 2008 on measures by Germany to assist DHL and Leipzig/Halle Airport in so far as it fixes at EUR 350 million the amount of State aid which the Federal Republic of Germany intends to grant to Leipzig/Halle Airport for the construction of a new southern runway and related airport infrastructure;
Dismisses the remainder of the action in Case T-455/08;
Orders Freistaat Sachsen and Land Sachsen-Anhalt to bear their own costs and to pay the European Commission's costs in Case T-443/08;
Orders Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG and Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH to bear their own costs;
Orders the Commission bear its own costs in Case T-455/08;
Orders the Federal Republic of Germany and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen eV (ADV) to bear their own costs in Cases T-443/08 and T-455/08.
____________1 - OJ C 237, 20.12.2008.