I. Introduction On 4 March 2009, the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber) (“CFI”) rendered two parallel judgments concerning the appeals lodged, on the one hand, by the Italian Republic (hereinafter also “Italy”) and, on the other, Associazione italiana del risparmio gestito (‘Assogestioni’) and Fineco Asset Management SpA (‘Fineco’), (collectively, ‘the applicants’), against Commission Decision 2006/638/EC of 6 September 2005 on the aid scheme imp