24.1.2009 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 19/23 |
Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 28 November 2008 — Hotel Cipriani and Others v Commission
(Joined Cases T-254/00, T-270/00 and T-277/00) (1)
(State aid - Relief from social security contributions for firms in Venice and Chioggia - Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the common market and requiring recovery of the aid paid out - Admissibility - Individual concern - Conditions concerning effect on trade between Member States and competition - Derogations under Article 87(3)(b) to (e) EC and Article 87(2)(b) EC - Categorisation as new aid or as existing aid - Principles of legal certainty, protection of legitimate expectations, equal treatment and proportionality - Duty to state reasons)
(2009/C 19/41)
Language of the case: Italian
Parties
Applicant in Case T-254/00: Hotel Cipriani SpA (Venice, Italy) (represented by: initially M. Marinoni, G.M. Roberti and F. Sciaudone, and later G.M. Roberti, F. Sciaudone and A. Bianchini, lawyers)
Applicant in Case T-270/00: Società italiana per il gas SpA (Italgas) (Turin, Italy) (represented by: M. Merola, C. Tesauro, M. Pappalardo and T. Ubaldi, lawyers)
Applicants in Case T-277/00: Coopservice — Servizi di fiducia Soc. coop. rl (Cavriago, Italy); and Comitato ‘Venezia vuole vivere’ (Venice) (represented by: A. Bianchini and A. Vianello, lawyers)
Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: V. Di Bucci, Agent, assisted by A. Dal Ferro, lawyer)
Intervener in support of the applicant in Case T-270/00: Italian Republic (represented by: initially U. Leanza, and later I. Braguglia, Agents, and by P. Gentili and S. Fiorentino, lawyers)
Re:
Action for annulment of Commission Decision 2000/394/EC of 25 November 1999 on aid to firms in Venice and Chioggia by way of relief from social security contributions under Laws Nos 30/1997 and 206/1995 (OJ 2000 L 150, p. 50)
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
1. |
Dismisses the applications; |
2. |
Orders Hotel Cipriani SpA, Società italiana per il gas SpA (Italgas), Coopservice — Servizi di fiducia Soc. coop. rl and the Comitato ‘Venezia vuole vivere’ to bear their own costs and to pay those of the Commission, and orders Coopservice and the Comitato ‘Venezia vuole vivere’ also to bear the costs of the interlocutory proceedings. |