I. Introduction The General Court (GC) delivered its judgment in this case on 12 May 2011. In doing so it upheld the right of the Commission to rectify a decision which would otherwise have been illegal during the proceedings which had been brought up for annulment. The applicants, Nord–Pas–de-Calais Regional authority (NPDC) and Communauté d’agglomération du Douaisis (CAD) the French regional bodies which had granted the aid, challenged the Commissio