Case T-96/03: Action brought on 10 March 2003 by Manel Camós Grau against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2003-05-10
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Anti-fraud Office, European Commissioner, European official, action for annulment (EU), fraud

C 112/44

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.5.2003

— Manifest error of assessment as regards the Community
case-law and rules on the requirement laid down in
Article 87(1) of the Treaty that aid should be granted by
the State or through State resources. It is asserted in this
respect that nothing in Community case-law or in the
legislation on State aid suggests that it is necessary that
the resources to which the domestic authorities waive
their right should be formally recognised in the State
budget.

— Breach of the principle of sound administration, since the
Commission did not raise objections to the disputed
measure or initiate the formal investigation procedure
laid down in Article 88(2) EC.

— order the Commission to pay him by way of compen-
sation for non-material damage provisionally assessed, ex
aequo et bono, at EUR 10 000;

— order the Commission to pay the applicant compensation

for damage to his career, provisionally, of EUR 1;

— order the Commission to reimburse the expenses incurred
by the applicant in preparing his defence in the context
of the inquiry and his administrative complaint against
the decision of 17 May 2002;

— order the Commission to pay the costs.

The applicants also allege that the Commission failed to
comply with the obligation to state reasons.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant is an official of the Commission of the European
Communities. Between 1993 and 1997, he assisted his
immediate superior who was a member of the Executive
Committee of
the Institute for European-Latin American
Relations (IRELA). When an internal inquiry was opened by
the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) into the IRELA, the
applicant was informed that it was possible that he too was
implicated in financial irregularities. The applicant asked the
director of OLAF to find out as soon as possible whether there
was any possible conflict of interest with regard to one of the
investigators and if appropriate to take the necessary steps to
guarantee the objectivity of the inquiry. By the contested
the director of OLAF decided to remove from
decision,
the inquiry the investigator concerned but
left standing
investigative measures and decisions proposed and adopted by
him or to which he contributed.

In support of his claims, the applicant relies on four pleas in
law:

— Infringement of Article 25(2) of the Staff Regulations
inasmuch as the contested decision was not notified to
him and provides an inadequate statement of reasons;

— Breach of the duty to provide evidence of the proper

conduct of the inquiry;

— Manifest error of assessment in that the reason for the
contested decision appears to be that the investigator
concerned did not participate either in the monitoring or
the handling of the case in question;

— Breach of the principle that inquiries should be fair and

impartial.

Action brought on 10 March 2003 by Manel Camós Grau
against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-96/03)

(2003/C 112/82)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 10 March 2003 by Manel Camós
Grau, residing in Brussels, represented by Marc-Albert Lucas,
lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the OLAF decision of 17 May 2002 removing one
of the investigators from the inquiry by the Office into
the IRELA inasmuch as it leaves standing investigative
measures and decisions on its conduct adopted by the
investigator or to which he contributed, without re-
examining or annulling them or requiring new inquiries;

— annul the OLAF decision of 29 November 2002 implicitly
rejecting the applicant’s administrative complaint of
29 July 2002 against the decision of 17 May 2002;