Brussels. No state aid, and therefore no fines. The EU Court of Justice rejects the European Commission’s accusatory system, which had ordered the Luxembourg government to recover “at least” 20 million euros from Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe for concessions contrary to EU rules. On 21 October 2015, the EU executive denounced the tax agreements between the two parties, deeming the conditions for the payment of taxes on profits as detrimental to competition because they are genuine public aid to Fiat Chrysler. Sentence confirmed by the Court on September 24, 2019, but canceled today.
It is the opinion of the Luxembourg judges that the Commission made an error of assessment and, consequently, the General Court as well. Tax agreements (known as ‘tax rulings’) do not qualify as state aid, and therefore cannot be treated as such. Hence the cancellation decision. There was no illegal action, and no restitution of the 20 million euros requested by the then Juncker Commission, with Margrethe Vestager still in charge of the twelve-star Antitrust. In a nutshell, the Community executive made an error of assessment, and the Court in “error of law”.
Appeals are not possible in the face of the judgment of the Court, the last level of judgment. The Commission must therefore take note of the defeat in the Chamber. However, this does not preclude the possibility of opening a new file and examining the tax agreements between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe.
The ruling clarifies that the agreements in question are not judged to be regular in themselves, but merely establish that they do not qualify as state aid. Therefore Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe wins this round. If there are others, this will depend on Brussels and on the services of Vestager, Commissioner for Competition.