Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2012:169
Date: 2012-03-29
Language of the case: Slovak
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Accession;Agriculture and Fisheries
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Slovakia

Action brought on 11 July 2007 - Slovakia v Commission (Case T-247/07) Language of the case: Slovak Parties Applicant: Slovak Republic (represented by: J. Čorba, Agent) Defendant: Commission of the European Communities Form of order sought declare the contested decision void inasmuch as it relates to the applicant, alternatively, if the Court of First Instance considers it necessary or desirable, annul the contested decision in its entirety; order the defendant to pay the costs. Pleas in law and main arguments The applicant seeks annulment of Commission Decision C(2007) 1979 final of 4 May 2007 on the determination of surplus stocks of agricultural products other than sugar and the financial consequences of their elimination in relation to the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia 1 in the amended version of 25 May 2007. The contested Commission decision fixed the quantities of certain types of fruit and rice in free circulation in the Slovak Republic at the date of accession exceeding the quantities which could be regarded as constituting a normal carryover of stock at 1 May 2004. At the same time, it charged the applicant EUR 3 634 000 in consequence of the expense of eliminating those quantities. The applicant submits that the defendant lacked the power to adopt the contested decision. In addition, the applicant states that even if the defendant were to have the power to determine excess stocks in the Slovak Republic and to impose a financial penalty on the applicant in respect of those allegedly excess stocks, it infringed the Treaty of Accession 2 in that it did not act on the correct legal basis, namely Article 41 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession. 3 Moreover, the applicant submits that, in not establishing that the Community incurred expenses or suffered other damage as a result of the applicant's failure to eliminate the excess quantities and in failing to adopt in time an appropriate legal measure authorising (i) the elimination of excess stock from the applicant's market, (ii) the means of determining what is excess stock and (iii) the means of calculating the applicant's financial burden, the defendant, by the contested decision, infringed the Treaty of Accession and the general legal principles of proportionality and legal certainty. Finally, the applicant submits that a serious infringement of the procedural requirement to state reasons occurred. ____________ 1 - OJ 2007 L 138, p. 14. 2 - Treaty concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic, of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union (OJ 2003 L 236, p. 17). 3 - Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded (OJ 2003 L 236, p. 33).