Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 July 2011 - Territorio
   Histórico de Vizcaya - Diputación Foral de Vizcaya and Others v
   Commission

   (Joined Cases C-474/09 P to C-476/09 P)

   Appeal - State aid - Actions for annulment - Decisions of the
   Commission concerning the State aid schemes implemented by Spain in
   favour of undertakings in the provinces of Vizcaya, Álava and Guipúzcoa
   - Reductions in the tax base for certain newly-created undertakings -
   Legitimate expectations - Principles of legal certainty and sound
   administration - Compliance with a reasonable time-limit - Lack of
   notification

   1.                     Appeals - Grounds - Challenge, repeating the
   pleas in law and arguments raised before the General Court, to the
   latter's interpretation or application of Union law - Admissibility
   (Art. 256(1), second para, TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art.
   58, first para.) (see paras 57-58, 60)

   2.                     State aid - Recovery of unlawful aid - Aid
   granted in breach of the procedural rules under Article 88 EC -
   Legitimate expectations entertained by the recipients - Protection -
   Conditions and limits - No action taken by the Commission for a
   relatively long time - No legitimate expectations (Arts 87 EC and 88
   EC) (see paras 66-67, 70, 76-78)

   3.                     Procedure - Measures of organisation of
   procedure - Request for production of documents - Duties of person
   making the request (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art.
   64(3)(d) and (4)) (see paras 89, 92)

   4.                     Appeals - Grounds - Review by the Court of
   Justice of the General Court's refusal to order measures of inquiry -
   Extent (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 66(1)) (see para.
   93)

   5.                     Procedure - Intervention - Application seeking
   to support the form of order sought by one of the parties - Application
   containing specific grounds of challenge but not altering the framework
   of the action - Admissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art.
   40, fourth para.) (see paras 109-111)

   6.                     State aid - Recovery of unlawful aid - Aid
   granted in breach of the procedural rules under Article 88 EC - No
   action taken by the Commission, for want of enough information
   available to it, for a relatively long time - No breach of the
   principles of legal certainty and of good administration - (Arts 87 EC
   and 88 EC; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 14(1)) (see paras
   116-117, 119-120, 124-125)

   Re:

   Appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance (Fifth
   Chamber, extended composition) of 9 September 2009 in Joined Cases
   T-230/01 to T-232/01 and T-267/01 to T-269/01 Diputación Foral de Álava
   and Gobierno Vasco and Others v Commission , by which that court
   dismissed, in Cases T-230/01 and T-267/01 an application for annulment
   of Commission Decision 2002/892/EC of 11 July 2001 on the State aid
   scheme applied by Spain to certain newly established firms in Álava (OJ
   2002 L 314, p. 1), in Cases T-231/01 and T-268/01 an application for
   annulment of Commission Decision 2002/806/EC of 11 July 2001 on the
   State aid scheme applied by Spain to certain newly established firms in
   Vizcaya (OJ 2002 L 279, p. 35), and in Cases T-232/01 and T-269/01, an
   application for annulment of Commission Decision 2002/540/EC of 11 July
   2001 on the State aid scheme applied by Spain to certain newly
   established firms in Guipúzcoa (OJ 2002 L 174, p. 31).

   Operative part

   The Court:

   1.

   Dismisses the main appeals and the cross-appeals;

   2.

   Orders Territorio Histórico de Vizcaya - Diputación Foral de Vizcaya,
   Territorio Histórico de Álava - Diputación Foral de Álava, Territorio
   Histórico de Guipúzcoa - Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa, Cámara Oficial
   de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Vizcaya, Cámara Oficial de
   Comercio e Industria de Álava, Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y
   Navegación de Guipúzcoa each to pay an equal share of the costs of the
   present appeals;

   3.

   Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs.