The General Court decided that the European Commission has made an error in its decision where it concluded that the Belgian excess profit regime resulted in a so-called ‘State aid scheme’. As a result of this approach under a State aid scheme (rather than assessing each of the rulings involved), the European Commission limited its review to 22 out of 66 rulings.
The Court ruled today that this was not correct and a more detailed review was required by the European Commission before reaching conclusions. Following this decision, there are multiple legal options including the option that one or more parties to the case (including the European Commission) may decide to file an appeal against this decision of the General Court. It should become clear in the foreseeable future what the next steps will be. It is likely that any final decision in this case will only be available within a couple of years.
Decision General Court regarding Excess Profit Rulings
