Case T-435/03: Action brought on 24 December 2003 by the Regione Siciliana against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2004-02-21
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: EU financing, European Commission, European Regional Development Fund, Sicily, action for annulment (EU)

21.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 47/39

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Annul the decision of the European Parliament to move
on to the recruiting phase provided for in Article 29(1)(b)
of the Staff Regulations, namely the organisation of an
internal competition, in order to fill the post of Deputy
Head of Division of the French Translation Division
(Vacancy Notice No 9192);

— Order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

first,
In support of his application, the applicant alleges,
infringement of Article 233 of the EC Treaty inasmuch as the
Parliament failed to comply properly with the judgment of the
Court of First
Instance of 15 November 2000 in Case
T-261/99 Dehon v Parliament. The applicant further alleges
infringement of Article 29(1)(a) of the Staff Regulations and
breach of the principle that officials must have reasonable
career prospects.

‘Messina-Palermo motorway major project’,
Gibbesi’,
‘Aragona Favara’ and ‘Piana di Catania’, and all other acts
resulting from it; Order the Commission of the European
Communities to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Instance of

The Regione Siciliana has brought an action before the Court
of First
the European Communities for the
annulment of Commission Decision BUDG/C3/EB/WH
D(2003) 10.5 — 191 No 331997 of 24 October 2003 on
‘setting off the Commission’s claims against its debts’, included
in the table annexed which sets out the ‘set off prescribed on
7 November 2003’, with reference to amounts relating to the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) applicable to
the ‘Porto Empedocle major project’, ‘Diga Gibbesi’, ‘Messina-
Palermo motorway major project’, ‘Aragona Favara’ and ‘Piana
di Catania’, and all other acts resulting from it.

In support of its action the Regione Siciliana alleges:

Action brought on 24 December 2003 by the Regione
Siciliana against the Commission of the European Com-
munities

1.

(Case T-435/03)

(2004/C 47/73)

(Language of the case: Italian)

Infringement and/or erroneous application of Articles 71
and 73 of Council Regulation No 1605 of 25 June
2002 (1) and Articles 83 and 86 of Commission
implementing Regulation No 2342 of 23 December
2002 (2) in so far as the contested decision has set off
against the credits of the Regione Siciliana certain debts
in the form of interest for late payment alleged to have
accrued to the Regione during periods in which, had the
Commission applied the Community rules according to
the law and timeously, no such interest would have
become due;

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 24 December 2003 by the Regione
Siciliana, represented by A. Cingolo, avvocato dello Stato.

2.

Infringement and erroneous application of Articles 73
and 187 of Council Regulation No 1605 of 25 June 2002
and Article 83 of Commission implementing Regulation
No 2342 of 23 December 2002 as regards the starting
date for the application of the compulsory set off of
credits and debits to the Commission;

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Annul Commission Decision BUDG/C3/EB/WH D(2003)
10.5 — 191 No 331997 of 24 October 2003 on ‘setting
off the Commission’s claims against its debts’, included in
the table annexed which sets out the ‘set off prescribed
on 7 November 2003’, with reference to amounts relating
to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
applicable to the ‘Porto Empedocle major project’, ‘Diga

3. Misuse of powers on grounds of contradiction between
subsequent acts and infringement of the principle of
legitimate expectations in so far as the Commission
contradicted its own earlier decisions even against the
Regione Siciliana as regards the lawfulness of using a set
off to extinguish financial obligations similar to those in
the present case;

C 47/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.2.2004

4.

Infringement (in various respects) of Article 73 of Regu-
lation No 1605 of 2002 and Article 32 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1260 of 21 June 1999 (3), in that the
Commission unlawfully retained the credit owed to the
Regione Siciliana substantially after the time when a
lawful and unexceptionable application for payment had
been made.

(1) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June
2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget
of the European Communities (OJ 2002 L 248 of 16.09.02, p. 1).
(2) Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of
23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implemen-
tation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the
European Communities (OJ 2002 L 357 of 31.12.02, p. 1).
(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying
down general provisions on the Structural Funds (OJ 1999 L 161
of 26.06.1999, p. 1).

Action brought on 26 December 2003 by Kelvin William
Stephens against Commission of the European Communi-
ties

(Case T-438/03)

(2004/C 47/74)

(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 26 December 2003 by Kelvin
William Stephens, residing in Brussels, represented by Nicolas
Lhoëst, lawyer, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— Annul the decision of the appointing authority dated
23 December 2002, in so far as it did not award the
applicant additional seniority and therefore reclassified
him in Grade A6, Step 2, instead of Grade A6, Step 3;

— Annul, so far as necessary, the decision of the appointing
authority of 4 September 2003, notified to the applicant
on 17 September 2003, rejecting complaint R/155/03;

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

ings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Following the judgments of the Court of Justice in Cases
C-389/98 P and C-459/98 P, the Commission reconsidered
under Article 31(2) of the Staff Regulations the classification
of officials who used remedies within the meaning of Article 91
of the Staff Regulations. Following that exercise, the Com-
mission adopted the contested decision in respect of the
applicant.

In support of his action, the applicant claims, as regards
additional seniority, that there has been a breach of the
Commission decisions of 6 June 1973 and 1 September 1983
on the criteria applicable to appointment in grade and to
classification in step on recruitment, a breach of Article 5(3)
of the Staff Regulations, and of the principle of equal treatment
and, last, a breach of Article 25(2) of the Staff Regulations and
of the obligation to state reasons.