«(Failure of Member State to fulfil obligations – State aid – Regulation (EC) No 1013/97 – Aid to publicly-owned shipyards – Commission Decision 2000/131/EC ordering repayment – Non-implementation)»

1.. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Non-compliance with a Commission decision on State aid – Pleas in defence – Plea alleging that the decision is unlawful – Inadmissible – Limits – Non-existent measure (Art. 88(2), second subpara., EC, Arts 226 EC, 227 EC, 230 EC and 232 EC)

2.. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Non-compliance with a Commission decision on State aid – Pleas in defence – Absolutely impossible to implement (Art. 88(2) EC)

3.. State aid – Commission decision finding aid incompatible with the common market – Difficulties of implementation – Obligation of the Commission and the Member State to cooperate in seeking a solution compatible with the Treaty (Arts 10 EC and 88(2) EC)

4.. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Application of national law – Conditions and limitations – Interests of the Community to be taken into account (Art. 88(2), first subpara., EC)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) 26 June 2003 (1)

((Failure of Member State to fulfil obligations – State aid – Regulation (EC) No 1013/97 – Aid to publicly-owned shipyards – Commission Decision 2000/131/EC ordering repayment – Non-implementation))

In Case C-404/00,

applicant,

v

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that, by not adopting within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with Commission Decision 2001/131/EC of 26 October 1999 on the State aid implemented by Spain in favour of the publicly-owned shipyards (OJ 2000 L 37, p. 22), which declares that that aid was granted illegally and is therefore incompatible with the common market, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under the fourth paragraph of Article 249 EC and under Articles 2 and 3 of that decision,

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),,

composed of: R. Schintgen, President of the Second Chamber, acting as President of the Sixth Chamber, C. Gulmann, V. Skouris, F. Macken (Rapporteur) and N. Colneric, Judges,

Advocate General: L.A. Geelhoed,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 7 March 2002,

gives the following

...

All other provisions of Directive 90/684/EEC shall apply to these yards.The Spanish Government agrees to carry out, according to a timetable approved by the Commission and in any case before 31 December 1997, a genuine and irreversible reduction of capacity of 30 000 cgrt [compensated gross registered tonnes].

Factual background

Decision 2000/131

Preliminary observations

Arguments of the parties

Findings of the Court

On those grounds,

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),

hereby:

Schintgen

Gulmann

Skouris

Macken

Colneric

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 26 June 2003.

R. Grass

J.-P. Puissochet

Registrar

President of the Sixth Chamber