Court of Justice Confirms Inadmissibility of Complaint by French Intercommunal Body Over Alleged State Aid
The Court of Justice (ECJ) has rendered its judgment in case Communauté d’Agglomération du Boulonnais v Commission (C‑628/24 P), upholding the decision of the General Court (GC) which ruled that the Communauté d’Agglomération du Boulonnais (CAB), a French intercommunal public body, lacks legal standing to challenge a Commission decision regarding alleged unlawful State aid to the port operator SEPD.
The Court confirmed that the Commission’s 2023 decision merely reaffirmed its 2020 position, which rejected CAB’s complaint on the grounds that it was not an “interested party” under EU State aid rules.
CAB argued that new facts and a re-evaluation by the Commission justified the admissibility of its 2023 complaint. However, the ECJ ruled that the second decision contained no new legal or factual elements and did not involve a genuine reassessment of CAB’s status. As such, it was deemed a purely confirmatory act, not subject to judicial review. The court found no legal error in the GC’s reasoning, dismissing CAB’s appeal in full.
For more information, see the ECJ’s judgment.