Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:1998:179
Date: 1998-07-16
Language of the case: Portuguese
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: European Social Fund (ESF)
Concepts: Statement of reasons;Pleas in law;European Social Fund;Limitation periods
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Portugal

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Actions for annulment — Time-limits — Point from which time starts to run — Measure 
neither published nor notified to the applicant — Exact knowledge of the content and grounds 
(EC Treaty, Art. 173, fifth para.) 
2. Social policy — European Social Fund — Assistance with the financing of vocational training 
initiatives — Certification by Member States of the factual and accounting accuracy of appli­
cations for payment of the balance — Scope 
(Council Regulation No 2950/83, Art. 5(4); Council Decision No 83/516, Art. 2(2); Commis­
sion Decision No 83/673, Art. 7) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-72/97 
3. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope 
(EC Treaty, Art. 190) 
4. Actions for annulment — Pleas in law — Misuse of powers — Meaning 
5. Social policy — European Social Fund — Assistance with the financing of vocational training 
initiatives — Decision to reduce assistance initially granted — Defence rights of the undertak­
ings concerned 
1. The period which an undertaking has in 
which to bring an annulment action 
against Commission decisions reducing 
amounts of financial assistance initially 
granted to it by the European Social 
Fund does not start to run until the date 
on which that undertaking acquired pre­
cise knowledge of the author, the content 
and the grounds of the decisions, the lat­
ter having been notified to the competent 
national authorities, and not having been 
published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
2. The certification referred to in Article 
5(4) of Regulation N o 2950/83 on the 
implementation of Decision 83/516 on 
the tasks of the European Social Fund 
consists, as far as Member States are con­
cerned, in checking the factual and 
accounting accuracy of the data for­
warded in support of the claim for pay­
ment of the balance of aid by the benefi­
ciary. The act of certification by the 
Member State does not absolve it from its 
other obligations under the relevant 
Community legislation. Thus, even if it 
has already carried out such certification, 
it remains bound by the obligations 
under Article 2(2) of Decision 83/516 and 
Article 7 of Decision 83/673 respectively, 
concerning the management of the fund, 
to guarantee the successful completion of 
the operations financed with the fund's 
aid and to notify the Commission of any 
suspected irregularities. Those obligations 
are not subject to any time restriction, 
and must be interpreted as applying 
throughout the management of an opera­
tion financed by the European Social 
Fund. Moreover, the exercise of the 
exclusive power of the Commission to 
reduce Community financial assistance 
under the European Social Fund cannot 
be made conditional upon the certifica­
tion referred to in Article 5(4) of Regu­
lation N o 2950/83. 
Accordingly, any certification under 
Article 5(4) of Regulation N o 2950/83 
must be regarded as being by its nature 
an operation carried out by Member 
States subject to all reservations. A differ­
ent interpretation would undermine the 
effectiveness of Article 7 of Decision 
83/673, which requires Member States to 
give notice of irregularities found in the 
management of operations to be financed 
through the European Social Fund. 
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PRODEREC v COMMISSION 
3. The statement of reasons required by 
Article 190 of the Treaty must show 
clearly and unequivocally the reasoning 
of the institution which enacted the meas­
ure so as to inform the persons concerned 
of the justification for the measure 
adopted and to enable the Community 
judicature to exercise its powers of 
review. The scope of that obligation 
depends on the nature of the measure in 
question and the context in which it was 
adopted. 
4. A measure may amount to a misuse of 
powers only if it appears, on the basis of 
objective, relevant and consistent factors, 
to have been taken with the exclusive 
purpose, or at least the main purpose, of 
achieving an end other than that stated or 
evading a procedure specifically pre­
scribed by the Treaty for dealing with the 
circumstances of the case. 
5. Since the defence rights of a beneficiary 
of financial assistance from the European 
Social Fund must be respected where the 
Commission reduces the amount of that 
assistance, the Commission may not 
adopt a decision reducing such assistance 
without first giving the beneficiary the 
possibility, or ensuring that it has had the 
possibility, of effectively setting forth its 
views on the proposed reduction. 
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