Today, the General Court delivered its judgement in a series of related cases concerning the Spanish tax leasing scheme (STL) and its application to financial leasing contracts for shipbuilding.
Following complaints received by the European Commission in 2006, the European Commission carried out a formal investigation of the STL and concluded in July 2013 that incompatible state aid had been granted. The Commission’s decision provided that “Spain must recover the aid from the beneficiaries without the beneficiaries being able to transfer the burden of recovery to other persons.” In today's judgement, the General Court explains that the Commission's order of recovery does not invalidate the “indemnity clauses” granted to beneficiaries though the scheme, a competence of the relevant national courts, but upholds the principle to prevent aid recipients from shifting the burden of recovery to other parties.
For further information: see judgement here (only available in French and Spanish at time of publication).