Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 18 January 2012 -
   Djebel - SGPS v Commission

   (Case T-422/07)

   State aid - Aid scheme designed to promote modern and competitive
   entrepreneurial strategies - Planned aid for a commercial company in
   the form of a soft loan in order to help finance an investment by that
   company in Brazil - Decision declaring aid to be incompatible with the
   common market - Duty to state reasons - Impairment of competition -
   Effect on trade between Member States - Equal treatment

   1.                     Actions for annulment - Jurisdiction of the EU
   judicature - Claim seeking that directions be issued to an institution
   - Claim for a declaratory judgment - Inadmissibility (Art. 230 EC) (see
   para. 50)

   2.                     State aid - Commission decision finding aid to
   be incompatible with the common market - Duty to state reasons - Scope
   - Decision in line with previous decisions - Summary reasoning -
   Decision going well beyond previous decisions - Express reasoning (Arts
   87(1) EC and 253 EC) (see paras 52-54, 57-58, 70)

   3.                     State aid - Effect on trade between Member
   States - Adverse effect on competition - Criteria for assessment -
   Small size and limited extent of aid not a priori excluding the
   possibility of trade being affected (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 81-85,
   88-90, 97, 100)

   4.                     State aid - Prohibition - Exceptions -
   Discretion of the Commission - Judicial review (Art. 87(3) EC) (see
   paras 107-108)

   5.                     State aid - Prohibition - Exceptions - Aid
   eligible for the derogation laid down in Article 87(3)(c) EC - Aid not
   needed or having an incentive effect - Exclusion (Art. 87(3)(c) EC)
   (see paras 118-124)

   6.                     State aid - General aid scheme approved by the
   Commission - Approval subject to a reservation requiring individual
   notification of certain aids - Examination of such a notified aid
   having regard only to the rules of the Treaty (see paras 144, 147-149)

   7.                     State aid - Concept - Assessment according to
   the criterion of the private investor - Capital contribution (Art.
   87(1) EC) (see paras 157-158)

   8.                     State aid - Commission decision - Assessment of
   legality by reference to the information available at the time of
   adoption of the decision - Foreseeable development of competition to be
   taken into account (Art. 87(1) EC) (see paras 168-170)

   9.                     State aid - Administrative procedure -
   Obligations of the Commission - Duty to act within a reasonable time -
   Criteria for assessment - Infringement - Consequences - Annulment of
   the decision where defence rights infringed (Art. 88(2) EC) (see paras
   174-176)

   10.                     Union law - Principles - Protection of
   legitimate expectations - Possibility of the Commission taking account
   of the development of the common market in relation to a previous
   decision - No breach of the principle of equal treatment (see paras
   199-200, 202-203)

   Re:

   ACTION for annulment of Commission Decision 2007/582/EC of 10 May 2007
   on State aid C 4/2006 (ex N 180/2005) - Portugal - Aid to Djebel (OJ
   2007 L 219, p. 30).

   Operative part

   The Court:

   1.

   Dismisses the action;

   2.

   Orders Djebel - SGPS, SA to bear its own costs and to pay those of the
   European Commission.