77Furthermore, it submits that the Commission wrongly considers in the contested decision that Article 8(1)(b) of Directive 92/81 precludes the application of Article 87 EC. That provision of secondary law has to be evaluated in the light of Article 87 EC and the other provisions of primary law governing State aid which are a specific expression of the principle of free competition (Case 26/78 INAMI v Viola [1978] ECR 1771, paragraphs 9 to 14; see also the Opinion of Advocate General Lenz in Case 52/84 Commission v Belgium [1986] ECR 89, 99). It is clear from the principle of the precedence of Community law that a conflict of application between secondary law and primary law is to be resolved either by interpreting the provision of secondary law so as to render it consistent with the primary law (in particular by extending the tax exemption to operators of high-speed trains) or, in cases where such an interpretation is not possible, by not applying the provision of secondary law (Case 300/86 Van Landschoot v Mera [1988] ECR 3443).
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