General Court confirms Commission’s failure to act on alleged Dutch state aid for electric fishing
Today, the General Court has rendered its judgment in Merlin and Others v Commission (T-141/23). The case concerns inter alia alleged state aid granted by the Netherlands to shipowners who carried out electric fishing. The Commission did not take a position regarding the alleged aid granted, it merely informed the complaints of its decision to close the case.
The applicants alleged that the Commission’s failure to take a formal position following the lodging of the complaints and the subsequent submission of information by the complainants regarding the alleged aid constituted a failure to act under Article 265 TFEU. The General Court held that the Commission had indeed failed to act as it had neither taken any step following the lodging of the complaint and the subsequent information submitted nor adopted a formal decision.
Moreover, the Court clarified that in the case of actions for failure to act, it lacked the authority to order the Commission to adopt a decision, leaving it to the Commission to take the necessary actions to comply with the judgment.
For further information, see the General Court’s judgment.