Order of the President of the General Court of 17 February 2011 – Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia v Commission

(Case T-520/10 R)

Interim measures – State aid – Compensation for additional production costs of certain electricity power plants arising from a public service obligation to produce certain volumes of electricity from indigenous coal implemented by a ‘preferential dispatch mechanism’ in their favour – Decision not to raise objections – Application for suspension of operation – Prima facie case – No urgency – Balance of interests

3. Applications for interim measures – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Serious and irreparable damage – Cumulative nature – Order of examination and method of verification – Discretion of the judge dealing with the application for interim relief (Arts 256(1) TFEU, 278 TFEU and 279 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 104(2)) (see paras 39-40)

4. Applications for interim measures – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Prima facie examination of the pleas raised in support of the main action – Action against a Commission decision authorising State aid – Plea, not devoid of foundation, concerning the reality of a sufficient and complete examination by the Commission in the context of the preliminary phase only without initiating the main proceedings (Art. 278 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 104(2)) (see paras 43, 56-57)

6. State aid – Planned aid – Examination by the Commission – Preliminary review and main review – Compatibility of the aid with the common market – Difficulties of assessment – Commission’s duty to initiate the main review procedure – Concept – Serious difficulties – Objective nature (Art. 108(2) and (3) TFEU) (see paras 45-47, 56)

8. Applications for interim measures – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Balancing of all the interests involved – No demonstration of risk that serious and irreparable damage may occur – Potential adverse effect on the competitive functioning of the electricity market – Primacy of the interests of the Member State and the undertakings concerned in relation to the interest of the applicant (Arts 278 TFEU and 279 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 104(2)) (see paras 80-81, 96)

9. Competition – Undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest – Definition of services of general economic interest – Member States’ discretion – Limits – Review by the Commission and the courts limited to cases of manifest error of assessment (Arts 106(2) TFEU and 107(1) TFEU; Protocol No 26 on services of general economic interest annexed to the EU Treaty and the FEU Treaty) (see paras 90-93)

Re:

APPLICATION for interim measures seeking, in essence, an order that the operation of Commission Decision C(2010) 4499 of 29 September 2010 concerning State aid N 178/2010 notified by the Kingdom of Spain in the form of a public service compensation linked to a preferential dispatch mechanism for indigenous coal power plants be suspended.

Operative part

3. The application for interim measures is dismissed.

4. Costs are reserved.