Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 2 April 2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale ordinario di Nocera Inferiore (Italy)) — Lodato Gennaro & C. SpA v Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale (INPS), SCCI

(Case C-415/07) (1)

(State aid for employment - Guidelines on aid to employment - Guidelines on national regional aid - Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 - Notion of ‘job creation’ - Calculation of the increase in employment)

2009/C 141/15

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Tribunale ordinario di Nocera Inferiore

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Lodato Gennaro & C. SpA

Defendants: Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale (INPS), SCCI

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunale ordinario di Nocera Inferiore — Interpretation of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2204/2002 of 12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment (OJ 2002 L 337, p. 3) — Ascertaining compliance with the requirements for obtaining aid — Ascertaining whether there has been an increase in employment — Method of calculation

Operative part of the judgment

In order to determine whether there has been an increase in employment, the guidelines on aid to employment should be interpreted as meaning that the average number of annual working units for the year preceding recruitment should be compared with the average number of annual working units for the year following such recruitment.

(1)  OJ C 283, 24.11.2007.