Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2021:931
Date: 2021-12-21
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Research and technological development
Procedure: Arbitration clause - unfounded
Origin: Greece

Action brought on 22 March 2017 — EKETA v Commission (Case T-190/17) Language of the case: Greek Parties Applicant: Ethniko Kentro Erevnas kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (EKETA) (Thessaloniki, Greece) (represented by: V. Christianos and S. Paliou, lawyers) Defendant: European Commission Form of order sought The applicant claims that the General Court should: declare that the request made by the European Commission to ΕΚΕΤΑ to reimburse the amount of EUR 172 992.15 of the payment received by it for the CATER project, that request being made in the debit note 3241615289/29.11.2016, is unfounded with respect to the sum of EUR 112 737.15; declare that the sum of EUR 112 737.15 constitutes eligible costs and that ΕΚΕΤΑ is not obliged to repay that sum to the European Commission, and order the European Commission to pay the applicant’s costs. Pleas in law and main arguments By this action, the Ethniko Kentro Erevnas kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (EKETA) challenges the requests made by the Commission by means of its debit note 3241615289/29.11.2016, in relation to participation in the CATER project. By means of that debit note, the Commission requested that ΕΚΕΤΑ reimburse part of the payment received by it for the CATER project, a sum of EUR 172 992.15. The request follows an on-the-spot audit which was carried out by the European Commission at the applicant’s premises. In that context, the applicant claims that the General Court of the European Union, under Article 272 TFEU, should declare that, out of the above amount stated in the debit note, the sum of EUR 112 737.15 constitutes eligible costs and that ΕΚΕΤΑ is not obliged to repay that sum to the Commission. ΕΚΕΤΑ maintains that the above amount of EUR 112 737.15 constitutes eligible staff costs and indirect costs, which the Commission wrongly rejected as being ineligible. The eligibility of the applicant’s costs is demonstrated by the evidence that it submitted to the European Commission at the on-the-spot audit and in subsequent correspondence and that it submits to the General Court. ____________