18.1.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 16/12

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 11 November 2015 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Münster — Germany) — Klausner Holz Niedersachsen GmbH v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen

(Case C-505/14) ( 1 )

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Articles 107 TFEU and 108 TFEU - State aid - Aid granted in breach of Article 108(3) TFEU - Decision of a Member State court establishing the validity of the contract granting that aid - Res judicata - Interpretation in conformity with EU law - Principle of effectiveness))

(2016/C 016/14)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Landgericht Münster

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Klausner Holz Niedersachsen GmbH

Defendant: Land Nordrhein-Westfalen

Operative part of the judgment

EU law precludes, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, the application of a rule of national law enshrining the principle of res judicata from preventing a national court which has held that contracts forming the subject-matter of the dispute before it constitute State aid, within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, implemented in breach of the third sentence of Article 108(3) TFEU, from drawing all the consequences of that breach because of a national judicial decision which has become definitive, which court, without examining whether those contracts constitute State aid, has held that the contracts remain in force.

( 1 ) OJ C 65, 23.2.2015 .