Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 11 December 2008 — Commission of the European Communities v Freistaat Sachsen

(Case C-334/07 P) (1)

(Appeal - State aid - Proposed scheme for aid to small and medium-sized enterprises - Compatibility with the common market - Criteria for assessing State aid - Application ratione temporis - Proposed scheme notified before the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 - Decision subsequent to entry into force thereof - Legitimate expectations - Legal certainty - Complete notifications)

(2009/C 32/09)

Language of the case: German

Parties

Appellant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: K. Gross, acting as Agent)

Other party to the proceedings: Freistaat Sachsen (represented by: Th. Lübbig, Rechtsanwalt)

Re:

Appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 3 May 2007 in Case T-357/02 Freistaat Sachsen v Commission by which the Court annulled in part Commission Decision 2003/226/EC of 24 September 2002 on an aid scheme which the Federal Republic of Germany is planning to implement — ‘Guidelines on assistance for SMEs — Improving business efficiency in Saxony’: Subprogrammes 1 (Coaching), 4 (Participation in fairs), 5 (Cooperation) and 7 (Design promotion) (OJ 2003 L 91, p. 13) — Applicability of Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises for aid projects notified to the Commission before the entry into force of that regulation

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

(1)  OJ C 223, 22.9.2007.