Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 17 December 2008 - Ryanair v Commission
(State aid - Agreements entered into by the Walloon Region and the Brussels South Charleroi airport with the airline Ryanair - Existence of an economic advantage - Application of the private investor in a market economy test)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: Ryanair Ltd (Dublin, Ireland) (represented: initially by D. Gleeson, A. Collins, SC, V. Power and D. McCann, Solicitors, and subsequently by V. Power and D. McCann, J. Swift, QC, J. Holmes, Barrister, and G. Berrisch, lawyer)
Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: N. Khan, acting as Agent)
Intervener in support of the defendant: Association of European Airlines (AEA) (represented by: S. Völcker, F. Louis and J. Heithecker, lawyers)
Re:
Application for annulment of the Commission Decision of 12 February 2004 concerning advantages granted by the Walloon Region and Brussels South Charleroi Airport to the airline Ryanair in connection with its establishment at Charleroi (OJ 2004 L 137, p. 1).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls Commission Decision 2004/393/EC of 12 February 2004 concerning advantages granted by the Walloon Region and Brussels South Charleroi Airport to the airline Ryanair in connection with its establishment at Charleroi;
Orders the Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those of Ryanair Ltd;
3. Orders the Association of European Airlines (AEA) to bear its own costs.
____________1 - OJ C 228, 11.9.2004.