Case T-187/03: Action brought on 28 May 2003 by Isabella Scippacercola against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2003-08-23
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, European Commission, Greece, access to EU information, action for failure to act, airport, balance of payments assistance, cost-benefit analysis

23.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 200/25

Action brought on 28 May 2003 by Isabella Scippacercola
against the Commission of the European Communities

hence Article 4(4) of Regulation 1049/2001 should have been
applied.

(Case T-187/03)

(2003/C 200/45)

(Language of the case: English)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
Isabella
European Communities on 28 May 2003 by
by
Scippacercola,
Dr K. Adamantopoulos and Mr D. Papakrivopoulos,
lawyers,
with an address for service in Luxembourg.

represented

Belgium,

Brussels,

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the Commission decision in the form of a letter
dated 19 March 2003 and notified to the applicant by fax
of 31 March 2003, refusing to the latter access to the
cost-benefit study relating to the construction of
the
Spata Airport;

— order that the costs of, and occasioned by, these proceed-

ings be borne by the respondent.

The applicant also claims in this respect that the Commission
infringed Article 1(a) of Regulation 1049/2001 and the prin-
ciple of the widest possible access to documents held by the
Commission.

Secondly, the applicant invokes a violation of Article 4(5) of
Regulation 1049/2001 and Article 5(4) of Decision 2001/937
(sic) to the extent that the Commission failed to assess the
justification given by Greece and, in doing so, gave a de facto
power of veto to the Member State concerned.

The applicant furthermore invokes a violation of the obligation
finally, a violation of Article 4(6) of
to state reasons and,
Regulation 1049/2001 to the extent
the Commission
that
have allegedly failed to examine whether partial access should
have been granted.

(1) Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, p. 43).
(2) 2001/937/EC, ECSC, Euratom: Commission Decision of 5 December
2001 amending its rules of procedure (notified under document
number C(2001) 3714) (OJ L 345, p. 94).

Pleas in law and main arguments

Action brought on 4 June 2003 by Gustav Thommes
against the Commission of the European Communities

The applicant has requested from the Commission, amongst
others, a copy of
the cost-benefit analysis concerning the
creation of the Spata Airport. According to the applicant, this
document should have accompanied the application by Greece
for assistance from the Cohesion Fund. The request for access
to documents was refused by the Commission. With the
refusal however,
the
application for assistance from the Cohesion Fund, which
contained a short description of the main topics of the cost-
benefit analysis. The confirmatory application by the applicant
was also rejected.

the Commission transmitted part of

In support of its application, the applicant submits in the first
place that the Commission made a manifest error in law and a
manifest error in the appreciation of the facts. According to
the applicant, the Commission erred in its assumption that the
document for which access was requested originated from a
Member State. According to the applicant, Greece was not the
original creator of the document, but merely forwarded the
document as part of
its application for assistance from the
Cohesion Fund.

The applicant claims that, as a consequence, the Commission
wrongly relied on and misinterpreted Article 4(5) of Regulation
1049/2001 (1) regarding public access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents and Article 5(4) of Deci-
sion 2001/937 (2) (sic). The applicant claims that the document
should have been considered as a third party document and

(Case T-195/03)

(2003/C 200/46)

(Language of the case: German)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 4 June 2003 by Gustav Thommes,
residing in Wezembeek-Oppem in Brussels (Belgium), repre-
sented by M. Thewes,
lawyer, with an address for service in
Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the defendant's decisions of 17 July 2002, 1 August

2002 and 3 March 2003;

— declare void the recovery of

the second half of

the

installation allowance for the resettlement of his family;

— grant the applicant the installation allowance in respect of

his transfer to Brussels;

— order the defendant to pay all the costs of the proceed-

ings.