Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:1998:210
Date: 1998-09-15
Language of the case: Portuguese
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: European Social Fund (ESF)
Concepts: European Social Fund
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Portugal

Summary of the J u d g m e n t 
1. Social policy — European Social Fund — Financial assistance for vocational training — Accu­
racy of facts and accounts in final payment claims to be certified by the Member States — 
Scope 
(Council Decision 83/516, Art. 2(2)) 
2. Social policy — European Social Fund — Financial assistance for vocational training — 
Undertaking by the recipient to use the assistance in accordance with the rules of national and 
Community law — Commission decision suspending, reducing or withdrawing the assistance 
if those rules are not complied with — Whether permissible 
(Council Regulation No 2950/83, Art. 6(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-142/97 
3. Social policy — European Social Fund — Financial assistance for vocational training — Com­
mission decision based on Article 6(1) of Regulation No 2950/83 — Evaluation of complex 
facts and accounts — Judicial review — Limits 
(Council Regulation No 2950/83, Art. 6(1)) 
1. In so far as a Member State confirms the 
accuracy of the facts and accounts in final 
payment claims for financial assistance 
from the European Social Fund, that State 
is responsible to the Commission for the 
certifications which it submits. Further­
more, under Article 2(2) of Decision 
83/516 on the tasks of the European 
Social Fund and Article 7(1) of Regula­
tion N o 2950/83 on the implementation 
of Decision 83/516 respectively, the 
Member States concerned must guarantee 
the successful completion of Fund voca­
tional training and guidance operations 
and the Commission may check final 
payment claims, 'without prejudice to 
any controls carried out by the Member 
States'. Those obligations and powers 
devolving on Member States are not lim­
ited by any restriction in time. Accord­
ingly, in the case where a Member State 
has already certified the accuracy of the 
facts and accounts in a final payment 
claim, that State may still alter its assess­
ment of the final payment claim if it con­
siders that it contains irregularities which 
have not previously been detected. 
2. Where, at the Commission's request, the 
recipient of European Social Fund assis­
tance has expressly declared in the docu­
ment accepting the approval decision that 
the assistance would be used 'in accor­
dance with the applicable provisions of 
national and Community law', the 'con­
ditions' referred to in Article 6(1) of 
Regulation N o 2950/83 on the implemen­
tation of Decision 83/516 on the tasks of 
the European Social Fund extend to com­
pliance by the recipient with the appli­
cable rules of national and Community 
law. The Commission may therefore sus­
pend, reduce or withdraw Fund assistance 
where it has not been used in accordance 
with those rules, including the rule on 
sound financial management. 
3. The application of Article 6(1) of Regula­
tion N o 2950/83 on the implementation 
of Decision 83/516 on the tasks of the 
European Social Fund, which provides 
that, where European Social Fund assis­
tance is not used in conformity with the 
conditions set out in the decision of 
approval, the Commission may suspend, 
reduce or withdraw that assistance, may 
make it necessary for the Commission to 
assess complex facts and accounts. In 
making such an assessment, the Commis­
sion therefore enjoys a wide discretion. 
Consequently, the Community judicature 
must, when examining whether such a 
power has been lawfully exercised, limit 
its review to verifying that there has been 
no manifest error in assessing the facts at 
issue. 
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