71As to the rights of infra-State bodies which have granted State aid, the administrative procedure regarding State aid is opened only against the Member State concerned. Only the Member State concerned, as the addressee of the contested decision, may rely on true rights of defence (Case T-291/06 Operator ARP v Commission [2009] ECR II-2275, paragraph 35). Infra-State bodies which grant aid, such as the applicants, like the undertakings receiving the aid and their competitors, are considered only to be interested parties in this procedure, for the purpose of Article 108(2) TFEU (see, to that effect, Case T-158/96 Acciaierie di Bolzano v Commission [1999] ECR II-3927, paragraph 42).
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