Case T-29/03: Action brought on 27 January 2003 by Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía against Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2003-03-22
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Andalusia, European Anti-fraud Office, European Commission, action for annulment (EU), admissibility, olive oil

C 70/32

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.3.2003

its application,

In support of
the applicant contests the
economic approach adopted in relation to the facts by the
Commission which, on the one hand, defined as the relevant
market the Italian geographic market but which, on the other
hand, completely overlooked the fact that the average price of
reinforced concrete in Italy has always been, on average, less
than that in the other States.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the decision of 11 November 2002 of the Director
General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) which,
as an internal service of the Commission of the European
Communities, declares inadmissible the complaint lodged
by the Junta de Andalucía.

Furthermore, S.P. contests the use of documents by the
Commission to substantiate its charges,
in particular the
memorandum of a partner undertaking which, in the Com-
mission’s view, provided useful information to understand the
way in which the accused undertaking operated, without such
documents having been notified to the applicant during the
proceeding. Moreover, although the Commission was in
possession of them, it failed to mention that it had made use
of such cooperation, preventing the applicant from adopting a
position in good time in relation to the charges made against
it. In that respect also, the applicant seeks the annulment of
the decision on the ground of a serious breach of the rights of
defence.

S.P. further alleges error of law, in particular the misapplication
of Article 65 ECSC, claiming that the contested objections do
not contain sufficient evidence to support the existence of an
agreement or concerted practices.

Finally, S.P. further contests the methods adopted by the
Commission when determining the fines to be imposed, in
particular the multiplier and the increment linked to the
allegedly uninterrupted duration of the alleged infringements
and to the alleged extreme seriousness, which has not been
proven, of the infringements.

Action brought on 27 January 2003 by Comunidad
Autónoma de Andalucía against Commission of the Euro-
pean Communities

(Case T-29/03)

(2003/C 70/51)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in the present proceedings contests the rejection
of the complaint submitted by Counsellor for Agriculture and
Fisheries to the Director General of the Anti-Fraud Office
(OLAF) after becoming aware of the existence of Report IO/
2000/7057 concerning the investigations carried out by OLAF
into possible irregularities in the olive oil sector in Spain,
concentrating in particular on the territory of the Comunidad
Autónoma de Andalucía.

In support of its arguments, the applicant alleges:

— infringement of the principles of legality, in that OLAF’s
activities covered areas over which there is no judicial
oversight, and of equality, inasmuch as such conduct
discriminated against any legal or natural person who is
not an official, agent or staff of the Community insti-
tutions, who alone may lodge administrative complaints
against OLAF’s conduct.

— infringement of the fundamental right of defence.

— that OLAF must accept the complaint in issue by analogy
with the provisions of Article 14 of Regulation No 1073/
1994, and reply to the substantive questions raised in the
aforementioned complaint.

Action brought on 30 January 2003 by The General
Workers Union in Denmark (Specialarbejderforbundet i
Danmark ‘SID’) against the Commission of the European
Communities

(Case T-30/03)

(2003/C 70/52)

(Language of the case: English)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 27 January 2003 by Comunidad
Autónoma de Andalucía, Seville (Spain), represented by Car-
men Carretero Espinosa de los Monteros, lawyers.

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the