the Law court of the EU has received the resource of the EU commission against France for the aids to the SNCM



The Law court of the European Union has received with today's sentence the resource for nonperformance of the EU commission against the France because - it has explained the Court - abstaining recovering the aid of 220 million euros granted, for a reason or purpose of services of marine transport carried out between Marseilles and the Corsica, to the company of Société Nationale navigation Corse-Méditerranée (SNCM), than currently it is in controlled administration, has failed to its obligations.

The Court has remembered that with decision on May 2, 2013 the EU commission has characterized as aids of State the compensations financial institutions poured to the SNCM and the CMN (Companies Méridionale de Navigation) for a reason or purpose of the services of marine transport supplied between Marseilles and the Corsica for the years from 2007 to 2013 within a convention of public service ( on 2 May 2013). Although the compensations poured to the SNCM and the CMN for services of transport supplied during all the year (so-called services "of base") are considered compatible with the home market, the EU commission had judged incompatible the compensations poured to the SNCM for services supplied from such society during the periods of traffic tip ("complementary" so-called services). The Commission therefore had ordered the recovery of the incompatible aids, for a total of 220 million euros. Such recovery had to be executed within four months from the date of notification of the decision, that is to more late on September 3, 2013.

During the summer of 2013 France and the SNCM therefore they had proposed each a resource dinanzi to the Court in order to obtain the cancellation of such decision and such resources are still hanging dinanzi to the Court. The EU commission had considered that, since the resources dinanzi to the Court do not have suspensory effect, France were held to comply on May 2, 2013 to the decision. Stating that France had abstained from adopting in the previewed terms the necessary provisions for the recovery from the SNCM of the illegitimate and incompatible declared aids with the home market, cancelling the deposit of such aids from the date of the notification of the decision, that is on May 3, 2013, and informing the Commission, within the two next months to the notification of the decision, of the adopted provisions in order to comply to the decision, the EU commission had proposed dinanzi to the Law court of the EU a resource for nonperformance against France.

The Court remembers moreover that France supports that the era impossible to execute how much tax from the EU commission otherwise the SNCM would have been object of judicial liquidation, that would have provoked serious disturbing of the law and order (as happened in the past with strikes, a block of the port of Marseilles and a risk of difficulty in supplying of the island of producing first necessity) and, therefore a risk of breach of the territorial continuity with the Corsica. Moreover France supports that the disappearance of the SNCM would return the conclusion of a new convection for the concession of public service with another economic operator necessary who would not immediately arrange necessarily and of material means and humans in order to satisfy the requirements of the concession, circumstance that could also it constitute a risk for the territorial continuity.

Today the Law court has considered the reasonings adduced from the EU commission valid and has received its resource stating in the first place that France has not adopted, to expiring of the term place from the Commission, (3 september 2013), the provisions necessary in order to recover the illegitimate aids. And on November 19, 2014 - it has explained the only the 7 Court - France have emitted two warnings of payment regarding the SNCM, for an amount of about 198 million euros (inferior to 220 million assessed from the Commission), without however a effective recovery of the illegitimate aids took place. The Court has found moreover that the mere emission of titles executives cannot be considered as recovery of the illegitimate aid.

The Law court of the EU has considered moreover that France did not find in the absolute impossibility to recover the aids and, regarding the relative argument to the disturbing one of the law and order, than France it has not demonstrated that it could not, eventually, to tackle, by means of the means of which it arranges, to disturbing of the sort. Also to suppose that it would have been produced a long-lasting block of the marine connections with the Corsica, in reason of illegitimate actions - it has specified the Court - no element introduced from France allows to consider that the connection of the Corsica with the continent by means of other marine ways or for aerial way would have been impossible, with the consequence that supplying of such island of producing first necessity could have been guaranteed.

Moreover, regarding the eventual problems deriving from the conclusion of a new convention for the concession of public service, the Court has observed that France has not demonstrated the existence of circumstances that allow to conclude that a reduction of the traffic in the marine connections between Marseilles and the Corsica would have consequences of an amplitude such from being able to be considered as an absolute impossibility of execution of the decision of the EU commission.

At last the Court has stated that France has not suspended the deposit of the illegitimate aids on May 3, 2013, but only on July 23, 2013, and informing has abstained from the EU commission of the provisions adopted within two months from the notification of the decision of Brussels.