Case T-25/01: Action brought on 31 January 2001 by Francisco Miguel Viana França against Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2001-04-07
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, European official, action for annulment (EU), election, special leave

7.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 108/25

(3)

annul
the contractual rules to be contained in the
applicants’ employment documentation whereby future
amendments to the Conditions of Employment or to the
provisional Staff Rules are to form the subject-matter of
contractual obligations;

(4)

annul the decision of the President of the defendant of
27 November 2000 rejecting the applicant’s grievance;

(5) order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By their application, the applicants, who are in an employment
relationship of unlimited duration with the European Central
Bank, seek annulment of two rules contained in the defendant’s
provisional Staff Rules (‘SR’), which lay down a time-limit for
commencing the administrative review procedure. Until the
amendment of those rules, there was no time-limit. The
applicants regard the amendment of the provisions of Articles
their
8.1.0 and 7.2.0 of
contractual rights.

the SR as an infringement of

In addition, the applicants’ business travel was previously
governed by Administrative Circular 07/1998. The rules
applying to the applicants were altered, to the detriment of
the applicants, by Administrative Circular 01/2000. In the
applicants’ view, those rules affect the essence of their employ-
ment relationships, and the amendment of them likewise
constitutes an infringement of their contractual rights.

The applicants further claim that, upon concluding their
contracts, they were compelled to accept a rule whereby future
amendments to the Conditions of Employment or to the SR
are to form the subject-matter of contractual obligations.
However, the defendant is not empowered to lay down rules
in the nature of employment legislation, and can therefore
neither unilaterally alter substantive provisions for the reim-
bursement of travel costs nor unilaterally change the contrac-
tual obligations by means of the new rules contained in
Articles 7.2.0 and 8.1.0 SR.

Action brought on 31 January 2001 by Francisco Miguel
Viana França against Commission of the European Com-
munities

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the implied decision of the appointing authority
refusing to grant special
leave for elections and the
relevant travelling time from the afternoon of 10 June to
the morning of 15 June 1999 and from the afternoon of
7 October to the morning of 12 October 1999;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

I.

L a c k o f c o m p e t e n c e

The decision of the appointing authority of 31 March 2000,
signed by the Deputy Director-General for Competition, on
the basis of which 6 days of annual leave were deducted,
amounting to an implied refusal of the applicant’s request for
special leave for elections and the relevant travelling time,
infringes the provisions in force relating to the powers of the
appointing authority and to any decisions to delegate authority,
inasmuch as it was signed by someone who was not empow-
ered to do so.

II.

I n f r i n g e m e n t o f
a n d
C o m m i s s i o n o f 2 1 F e b r u a r y 1 9 9 6

t h e S t a f f R e g u l a t i o n s
t h e

i n s t r u c t i o n o f

i n t e r n a l

t h e

The implied refusal of the appointing authority infringes
Article 57 of the Staff Regulations and Annex V respectively,
instruction of the Commission of
as well as the internal
21 February 1996, which provides that travelling time is to be
granted only upon submission of documentary evidence of
participation in the elections. The requirement to submit any
other documentary evidence other than that required for
special leave and the relevant travelling time for elections has
no legal basis.

(Case T-25/01)

(2001/C 108/46)

III.

(Language of the case: Portuguese)

B r e a c h o f t h e d u t y t o c o o p e r a t e i n g o o d
f a i t h
p r o -
p o r t i o n a l i t y

p r i n c i p l e

a n d

t h e

o f

o f

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 31 January 2001 by Francisco
Miguel Viana França, residing in Brussels, represented by
Gonçalo Gentil Anasta´cio, advogado.

First, the applicant was asked, in February 2000, to submit
documents relating to the events which took place in June and
October 1999, despite the fact that no provision of law obliged
the applicant
it was
unreasonable to expect him to possess them.

to keep such documents and that

C 108/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

7.4.2001

Secondly, despite not being in possession of documentary
evidence to prove that he had participated in the elections, the
appointing authority did not grant even a single day in respect
of travelling time to the applicant, who had travelled from his
place of work to the place where elections were being held.
The appointing authority’s refusal to grant him even the
minimum amount of travelling time is a manifest breach of
the principle of proportionality.

Following an exchange of correspondence with the Com-
mission, the applicant sent the defendant a letter calling upon
it to act pursuant to Article 232 EC. However, even after being
so called upon,
the Commission has failed to define its
position. Therefore the applicant states that, some 20 months
after the lodging of the complaint, the Commission has not
defined its position with regard to the preliminary inquiry
undertaken by it.

Action brought on 29 January 2001 by Fiocchi Munizioni
SpA against Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-26/01)

(2001/C 108/47)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 29 January 2001 by Fiocchi
Munizioni SpA, represented by Ivo Van Bael, Enrico Adriano
Raffaelli, Fabrizio Di Gianni and Renato Antonini, avvocati.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— declare, on the grounds set forth in the present application
and as a consequence thereof, that the Commission has
failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 232 EC by
failing to act with respect
the
applicant, having refrained from adopting the appropriate
decisions and not having addressed the requisite acts;

to the complaint of

— order the Commission to pay the costs; and

— adopt any other necessary and equitable measure.

In support of its claims, the applicant alleges breach of the
principle of good administration, inasmuch as the Commission
ought to have concluded the preliminary stage of the procedure
within a reasonable time.

Secondly, the defendant has failed to define its position with
regard to the requests contained in the complaint.

Action brought on 9 February 2001 by the Territorio
Histo´ rico de Alava — Diputacio´ n Foral de Alava against
the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-30/01)

(2001/C 108/48)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 9 February 2001 by the Territorio
Histo´ rico de Alava — Diputacio´ n Foral de Alava, established
in Alava (Spain), represented by Marta Morales Isasi and
Ignacio Sa´enz-Cortabarrı´a Ferna´ndez, lawyers.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the Commission’s decision of 28 November 2000
initiating the procedure provided for by Article 88(2) EC
with regard to Article 14 of Norma Foral 18/1993;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in the present proceedings — an undertaking
involved in the manufacture and marketing of arms and
munitions — claims to have lodged with the Commission a
complaint relating to State aid allegedly granted by the
Kingdom of Spain to E.N. Santa Barbara, having its registered
office in Spain. In that complaint, the applicant pointed out
that the alleged aid gave rise to serious distortion of compe-
tition in the market
is in direct
competition with E.N. Santa Barbara.

in which it

for arms,

The measure to which the contested decision relates is
contained in Article 14 of the Norma Foral No 18/1993 of the
Territorio Histo´ rico de Alava of 5 July 1993 concerning urgent
fiscal measures in support of investment and the promotion
of economic activity. That measure concerns the grant of an
exemption from corporation tax to undertakings founded in
1993 and 1994, and was adopted as part of a whole series of
fiscal measures in support of investment and the promotion
of economic activity.