(6) On 20 May 2014, the Complainant submitted further information. On 4 June 2014, the Commission invited the States to provide comments on the Complainant’s submission of 20 May 2014. The States submitted a joint reply on 26 June 2014.

(7) On 30 May, and on 3 and 17 June 2014, the Complainant submitted further information related to press articles. The Commission did not forward those submissions to Denmark or Sweden.

(8) On 18 June 2014, the Complainant submitted supplementary information. On 30 June 2014, the Commission forwarded that submission to the States. On 1 September 2014, the States submitted a joint reply.

(9) On 27 August, and again on 8 and 9 September 2014, the Complainant submitted additional information related to press articles. The Commission did not forward those submissions to Denmark or Sweden.

(10) On 15 September 2014, the States submitted a joint statement and additional information.

(11) On 15 October 2014, the Commission adopted a decision (5) (the ‘2014 decision’) finding, firstly, that the public financing of the road and rail hinterland connections to the Fixed Link and the Danish ‘joint taxation regime’ should not be considered as State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. Secondly, the Commission decided not to raise objections against ‘the Danish special tax measures for depreciation of assets and carry-forward losses and the guarantees granted by Denmark to the Consortium’ on the ground that, although those measures constituted State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, they were compatible with the internal market on the basis of Article 107(3), point (b) TFEU. In the same decision, the Commission considered that ‘the guarantee granted to the Consortium by Sweden’ was existing aid within the meaning of Article 1(b), point (i) of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 (6) (‘Regulation (EC) No 659/1999’) and Article 144 of the Act of Accession of Norway, Austria, Finland and Sweden (7) (‘Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden’), in relation to which there was no reason to initiate the procedure to propose appropriate measures regarding existing aid schemes (8). The Commission also found that ‘the States and the Consortium could have legitimate expectations that the Commission would not call into question the State guarantees and the tax measures on the basis of State aid rules’. The Commission based that finding on the specific circumstances of the case and on the general policy adopted by the Commission that financing measures for the construction and operation of infrastructure definitively adopted before the judgment of the General Court of 12 December 2000 in

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 (9) (the ‘

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