EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 73/16

(Case C-591/14)

(2015/C 073/22)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: J.-F. Brakeland and B. Stromsky, Acting as agents, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare that by failing, within the period prescribed, to take all the necessary measures to recover from the beneficiaries the aid declared to be illegal and incompatible with the internal market by Article 1(3) and (4) of Commission Decision 2011/678/EU of 27 July 2011, concerning the State aid for financing screening of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in bovine animals implemented by Belgium (1), and by failing to inform the Commission, within the prescribed period, of the measures taken to comply with that decision, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to comply with its obligations under the fourth paragraph of Article 288 TFEU and Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Commission Decision 2011/678/EU.

—order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By Commission Decision 2011/678/EU concerning the State aid for financing screening of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in bovine animals implemented by the Kingdom of Belgium, the Commission declared aid granted by Belgium to be illegal and incompatible with the internal market.

The period prescribed by the decision for the recovery of the aid declared to be illegal expired on 28 November 2011, without the complete recovery of those aids having taken place.

At the date on which the present action was lodged, the defendant had still not adopted the necessary measures to recover the aid granted to the beneficiary companies, nor communicated to the Commission all the information requested.

(1) OJ L 2011 274, p. 36.

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Language of the case: French.