Brussels, 28/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - In a decision published on 28 October 2010, the European Commission is taking Italy to the European Court of Justice for failure to respect a 2006 ruling from the European Court of Justice ordering the recovery of illegal aid granted by the Italian state to utilities with a majority public capital holding. As this involves failure to respect the ruling of 1 June 2006 in case C-207/05, the Commission is calling for Italy to be fined €65,280 from the date of the second court ruling until the infringement ends, and a lump sum of €7,140 for the period between the 2006 court ruling and the second court ruling.
The original Commission decision that Italy must recover state aid dates back to 2002 for aid granted in the 1990s, namely a three-year income tax exemption (from 1993 to 1995) and the possibility to contract reduced-interest loans with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The measures had the effect of strengthening the competitive position of the undertakings concerned vis-à-vis that of privately owned operators, Italian or other.
Despite the order from the Commission of 31 January 2008 to respect the Court of Justice's ruling, Italy has not yet notified recovery of the aid in question, which is why such heavy fines are being requested under Article 260 of the EU Treaty and in line with the Commission's policy to speed up and ensure the recovery of illegal state aid. The fines reflect the seriousness of the infringement and the long period of time that has elapsed since the Commission's 2002 decision and the Court's 2006 ruling, and also the fact that Italy's failure to comply with the Court of Justice's ruling is largely due to the suspension by Italian courts of payment orders issued by other Italian courts, a situation that infringes EU law. (F.G./transl.fl)