Brussels, 23/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 22 September, the Court of Justice of the EU confirmed (Case C-148/09 P) the ruling of the Court of First Instance from 2009 (T-388/03) that the European Commission was derelict in its duties when, in 2003, after just a preliminary examination and without the prior opening of a formal investigation, even though there were grounds for this, it approved a capital injection of €297.5 million which was notified by the Belgian state in December 2002 to recapitalise the national postal service (BPost) (EUROPE 9837). In so doing, it rejects the appeal from the European Commission and the Belgian state against this verdict and confirms the cancellation of the decision taken by the Commission at the time, authorising this public aid.
Readers may recall that this aid consisted of a series of financial and tax advantages for the amount in question, plus a state guarantee on certain loans. These were granted as part of the recapitalisation plan for the company as compensation for its public service mission. The Commission took the view that these measures were compatible with state aid rules.
Deutsche Post and its subsidiary DHL International, rivals of BPost on the Belgian market, approached the Court of First Instance over the fact that the Commission had authorised this aid without opening a formal investigation procedure, which would have allowed them to present their comments. The Court of First Instance upheld this view, concluding that there were elements in place which justified the opening of such procedures.
Since then, in July 2009, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the compatibility of this aid and should present its conclusions within a few months. Commenting on the ruling of the Court, BPost stresses that it relates only to shortcomings in the procedure followed by the Commission, not on the substance of the dossier or on whether the aid will have to be paid back. (FG/transl.fl)