Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 14 November 2002 in Joined Cases T-332/00 and T-350/00: Rica Foods (Free Zone) NV and Free Trade Foods NV v Commission of the European Communities (Association arrangements for the overseas countries and territories — Regulation (EC) No 2081/2000 — Imports of sugar and mixtures of sugar and cocoa — EC/OCT cumulation of origin — Safeguard measure — Application for annulment — Action for damages — Article 109 of the OCT Decision — Principle of proportionality — Misuse of powers)
Date: 2003-02-08
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, action for annulment (EU), import, overseas countries and territories, public limited company, quantitative restriction, sugar industry, sugar product

C 31/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

8.2.2003

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

Information

(2003/C 31/22)

At its meeting on 9 January 2003, the Court of First Instance
decided as follows:

The decisions adopted on 4 July 2002 (OJ 2002 C 202, p. 19)
on the designation of the Presidents of Chamber and the
composition of the Chambers for the period between 1 Octo-
ber 2002 and 30 September 2003 shall remain in force, after
the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice, for the period for
which they were adopted.

K. Lenaerts and J. Azizi, Judges; J. Plingers, Administrator, for
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 14 November 2002, in
which it:

1. Orders that Cases T-94/00, T-110/00 and T-159/00 be

joined for the purposes of the judgment;

2. Dismisses the applications;

3. Orders each of the applicants to bear its own costs and pay
those incurred by the Commission, including those incurred by
it in the proceedings for interim relief, in the case it has brought;

4. Orders the interveners to bear their own costs.

(1) OJ C 176 of 24.6.00 and C 259 of 9.9.00.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

of 14 November 2002

in Joined Cases T-94/00, T-110/00 and T-159/00: Rica
Foods (Free Zone) NV and Others v Commission of the
European Communities (1)

(Association arrangements for the overseas countries and
territories — Regulation (EC) No 465/2000 — Imports of
sugar and mixtures of sugar and cocoa — EC/OCT cumu-
lation of origin — Safeguard measure — Application for
annulment — Action for damages — Article 109 of the
OCT Decision — Principle of proportionality — Misuse of
powers)

(2003/C 31/23)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

In Joined Cases T-94/00, T-110/00 and T-159/00: Rica Foods
(Free Zone) NV, established in Oranjestad (Aruba), represented
by G. van der Wal,
lawyer, with an address for service in
Luxembourg, Free Trade Foods NV, established in Curaçao
(Netherlands Antilles), Suproco NV, established in Curaçao,
represented by M. Slotboom and J. Coumans, avocats, with an
address for service in Luxembourg, supported by Kingdom of
the Netherlands (Agents: J. van Bakel and H. G. Sevenster),
against Commission of the European Communities (Agent:
T. van Rijn), supported by Kingdom of Spain (Agent: N. Díaz
in Cases T-94/00 and T-110/00, by French
Abad) and,
Republic (Agents: G. de Bergues and L. Berheim) — application
first, for annulment of Commission Regulation (EC) No 465/
2000 of 29 February 2000 introducing safeguard measures
for imports from the overseas countries and territories of sugar
sector products with EC/OCT cumulation of origin (OJ 2000
L 56, p. 39), and secondly for damages — the Court of First
Instance (Third Chamber), composed of M. Jaeger, President,

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

of 14 November 2002

in Joined Cases T-332/00 and T-350/00: Rica Foods (Free
Zone) NV and Free Trade Foods NV v Commission of the
European Communities (1)

(Association arrangements for the overseas countries and
territories — Regulation (EC) No 2081/2000 — Imports of
sugar and mixtures of sugar and cocoa — EC/OCT cumu-
lation of origin — Safeguard measure — Application for
annulment — Action for damages — Article 109 of the
OCT Decision — Principle of proportionality — Misuse of
powers)

(2003/C 31/24)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

In Joined Cases T-332/00 and T-350/00: Rica Foods (Free
Zone) NV, established in Oranjestad (Aruba), represented by
lawyer, with an address for service in
G. van der Wal,
Luxembourg, supported by Kingdom of
the Netherlands
(Agents: J. van Bakel, H. Sevenster and H. van der Oosterkamp),
and Free Trade Foods NV, established in Curaçao (Antilles
néerlandaises), represented by M. Slotboom, N. Helder and
J. Coumans, lawers, with an address for service in Luxembourg
against Commission of the European Communities (Agent:
T. van Rijn), supported by Kingdom of Spain (Agents: N. Díaz
Abad and López-Monís Gallego) — application first
for
annulment of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2081/2000 of
29 September 2000 providing for the continued application
of safeguard measures for imports from the overseas countries

8.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 31/17

and territories of sugar sector products with EC/OCT cumu-
lation of origin (OJ 2000 L 246, p. 64) and secondly for
damages — the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber),
composed of M. Jaeger, President, K. Lenaerts and J. Azizi,
Judges; J. Plingers, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a
judgment on 14 November 2002, in which it:

1. Orders that Cases T-332/00 and T-350/00 be joined for the

purposes of the judgment;

2. Dismisses the applications;

3. Orders each of the applicants to bear its own costs, and pay
those incurred by the Commission in the case it has brought,
including, in the case of the applicant in Case T-350/00, those
incurred by it in the proceedings for interim relief;

4. Orders the interveners to bear their own costs.

( 1) OJ C 4 of 6.1.01 and C 45 of 10.2.01.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant, a public limited company whose seat
is
in Athens, has as its business the production, packaging,
standardisation and preservation of, and trade in, agricultural
products. It was founded pursuant to an improvement plan
drawn up under Regulations (EEC) No 355/77 and No 866/90
for co-financing by the European Community and the Greek
State.

The applicant submits that,
following the adoption of a
measure relating to the market by the Greek authorities, it was
reduced to an extremely poor financial position and its
operation became problematic.

By its application, it accuses the Commission of inaction and
delaying tactics since, notwithstanding the applicant’s repeated
requests and its approaches to various Community authorities,
the Commission failed:

— to abolish the Community financial assistance under

Article 23 of Regulation No 4253/88 (1);

— to initiate, against the Hellenic Republic, the procedure
under Article 226 EC for breach of Community law.

Action brought on 28 October 2002 by the company
Tipopiitiria Thivas A.E. — Viomikhania Siskevasias Tipo-
piisis kai Sintirisis Agrotikon Proïonton against the Com-
mission of the European Communities

In this connection, the applicant submits that the Commission
infringed Regulation No 4253/88, exceeded the limits of
its discretion and offended against the principle of equal
treatment.

(Case T-334/02)

(2003/C 31/25)

(Language of the Case: Greek)

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988,
laying down provisions for
implementing Regulation (EEC)
No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the
different Structural Funds between themselves and with the
operations of
the European Investment Bank and the other
existing financial instruments (OJ No L 374, 31.12.1998, p. 1).

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 28 October 2002 by the company
Tipopiitiria Thivas A.E. — Viomikhania Siskevasias Tipopiisis
kai Sintirisis Agrotikon Proïonton, whose seat is in Athens
(Greece), represented by Ioannis Stamoulis, of the Athens Bar,
with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— allow the present application challenging the failure
of the European Commission to abolish Community
assistance;

— declare that the European Commission has unlawfully
failed to abolish the Community financial assistance;

— order the European Commission to pay the costs.

Action brought on 21 November 2002 by Air One S.p.A.
against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-344/02)

(2003/C 31/26)

(Language of the case: Italian)

An action was brought before the Court of First Instance of
the European Communities on 21 November 2002 by the
abovementioned applicant, represented by G. Belotti, against
the Commission of the European Communities.