The Court of Justice and the General Court of the EU hold that a measure adopted via faulty procedures can be a State aid and that the mere quality of competitor is not sufficient to be considered as individually concerned (Commerz Nederland ; Dansk Automat)

i) State Aid Can Be Attributed to the State even when Granted via Faulty Procedures ii) Who Can Challenge a Commission Decision Authorising State Aid?* Main points For a measure to constitute State aid, it must, among other things, be attributed to a decision of the state. When a State aid granting decision is made in contravention of the procedural rules of an organisation controlled by the state, the decision can still be attributed to the state, unless it can be shown that the state would have opposed it, had it been aware of it.A company can appeal against a Commission decision on State aid only when it is directly and individually concerned. Companies do not gain legal standing on the grounds that their commercial interests are likely to be harmed by State aid granted to their