Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 July 2011 – Mediaset v Commission
(Case C-403/10 P)
Appeal – Subsidies granted by the Italian Republic in order to encourage the buying of digital decoders – Exclusion of decoders that enable only the reception of television programmes broadcast by satellite – Decision declaring the aid incompatible with the common market
1.Procedure – Application initiating proceedings – Formal requirements – Lack of a brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based – Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1))c)) (see paras 42-45, 52, 55-56)
2.State aid – Definition – Selective nature of the measure – Subsidy for the purchase of digital decoders affording an advantage to terrestrial digital broadcasters and cable-operators over satellite broadcasters – Included (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 36, 62-65)
3.Appeals – Grounds – Assessment of the economic advantage afforded by a State aid measure – Plea requiring an assessment of the facts falling to the General Court alone and avoiding review by the Court of Justice, unless there has been distortion (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58) (see paras 73-77)
4.Appeals – Grounds – Inadequate statement of reasons – Reliance by the General Court on implied reasoning – Whether permissible – Conditions (see para. 88)
5.State aid – Prohibition – Derogations – Aid eligible for the derogation laid down in Article 87(3)(c) EC – Conditions – Subsidy for the purchase of terrestrial digital decoders – Not included (Art. 87(3)(c) EC) (see paras 101-104)
6.Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Extent – Commission decision on State aid – Characterising of the adverse effect on competition and of the affecting of trade between Member States (Arts 87(1) EC and 253 EC) (see paras 111, 113, 115)
7.State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Application of national law – Conditions and limits (Art. 88 EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 14(1)) (see paras 122-123)
8.State aid – Commission decision finding aid incompatible with the common market and ordering its recovery – Possible for the Commission to leave to national authorities the task of calculating the exact amount to be recovered – No breach of the principle of legal certainty (Art. 88 EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 14(1)) (see paras 126-128)
Application for
| Appeal against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 15 June 2010 in Case T‑177/07 | Mediaset | v | Commission | by which that court dismissed an action for annulment in part of Commission Decision C(2006) 6634 final of 24 January 2007 declaring incompatible with the common market the subsidies granted by Italy in 2004 and 2005 for the purpose of enabling consumers to buy or hire interactive digital decoders allowing the reception of programmes using digital or cable terrestrial technology, on the ground that those subsidies exclude decoders allowing the reception of programmes using satellite television broadcasting technology (Aid No C52/2005, ex NN 88/2005, ex CP 101/2004). |
Operative part
|
| The Court: |
1. |
| 1. Dismisses the appeal; |
2. |
| 2. Orders Mediaset SpA to bear its own costs and to pay the costs of the European Commission and of Sky Italia Srl. |