Court of Justice upholds inadmissibility of actions against State aid compensation granted to Correos
The Court of Justice (CJEU) rendered its judgment in cases Asempre v Commission (C-124/24 P) and UNO v Commission and others (C-126/24 P) relative to actions for annulment by associations representing private postal operators against a Commission decision approving compensation granted by Spain to Correos for the provision of the universal postal service between 2011 and 2020.
The CJEU dismissed the appeals and confirmed the General Court’s finding that the actions were inadmissible for lack of standing. It held that neither the associations nor their members had demonstrated that the Commission decision substantially affected their competitive position, a requirement to establish individual concern under Article 263 TFEU. The Court clarified that active participation in the administrative procedure or the dominant position of the aid beneficiary is not sufficient, on its own, to confer standing. It also rejected arguments based on the right to effective judicial protection, reaffirming that Article 47 of the Charter cannot override the standing requirements expressly laid down in the Treaties.
For more information, see the CJEU’s judgments (C-124/24 P and C-126/24 P).