Failing to act on state aid : a definitive stance on (un)lawful national subsidies is required

In Case T-141/23, the General Court held that the European Commission (Commission) had failed to fulfil its obligations under the State Aid Procedural Regulation. The Court found that the Commission’s inaction concerning alleged unlawful aid granted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Dutch beam trawlers using pulsed electric current constituted a failure to act within the meaning of the Regulation. This judgment represents a rare case in which the General Court has found the Commission in breach of its duty to act in the field of State aid. It provides valuable clarification on the conditions for admissibility of actions for failure to act, particularly where the institution has been expressly called upon to adopt a clear and definitive position on the existence of unlawful national subsidies.