Case T-80/05: Action brought on 17 February 2005 by Hinrich Bavendam and others against the Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2005-06-11
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, Germany, action for annulment (EU), environmental law, protected area

C 143/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

11.6.2005

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicants in this case are all officials who retired before 1
May 2004. They contest the transitional scheme set up pending
the abolition of weightings by Council Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 723/2004 of 22 March 2004 amending the Staff
Regulations of officials of the European Communities and the
Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European
Communities (1) in so far as that scheme is based on a new
calculation of the ‘pension’ weightings which are no longer
calculated according to the cost of living in the capital, but
according to the average cost of living in the Member State
where the recipient of the pension provides evidence of having
established his main residence.

In support of their claims the applicants first submit that the
regulation cited is based on erroneous grounds in so far as
neither the further integration of
the Community nor the
freedom of movement and residence, nor the difficulty of veri-
fying the actual place of residence of pensioners can serve as a
basis for the transitional scheme at issue.

cour, Ahlen-Vorhelm (Germany), Franz-Albrecht Metternich-
Sandor, Prinz von Ratibor and Corvey, Höxter (Germany),
Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein, Thumby (Germany) and
the town of Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock (Germany), represented
by T. Giesen, lawyer.

The applicants claim that the Court should:

— annul

the Commission's Decision of 7 December 2004
adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC (1), the
list of sites of Community importance for:

1. the Continental biogeographical region

2. the Atlantic biogeographical region

(notified under documents numbers C(2004) 4031 and
C(2004) 4032) insofar as it concerns the property or terri-
torial sovereignty of the applicants;

— order the defendant to pay the costs of the proceedings.

The applicants also submit that the principles of equality, legal
certainty, retroactivity of acquired rights and the protection of
legitimate expectations have been infringed in this case.

Pleas in law and main arguments

(1) OJ L 124, 27.04.2004, p. 1.

Action brought on 17 February 2005 by Hinrich
Bavendam and others against the Commission of the Euro-
pean Communities

(Case T-80/05)

(2005/C 143/69)

(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 17 February 2005 by Hinrich
Bavendam, Bremen (Germany), Günther Früchtnicht, Bremen
(Germany), Hinrich Geerken, Bremen (Germany), Hans-Jürgen
Weyhausen-Brinkmann, Bremen (Germany), Curt-Hildebrand v.
Einsiedel, Leipzig (Germany), Christina Gräfin von Schall-Riau-

The applicants are either proprietors of entire sites or of large
parts of sites declared by the contested decision to be sites of
Community importance, which, the applicants submit, restricts
their property rights.

The applicants submit that the selection criteria used for adding
to the list of sites of Community importance were not met
since the habitat types and species decisive to the selection are
either not to be found at all or are not sufficiently representa-
tive.

The applicants contend further that:

— essential procedural requirements under Article 6(2),

(3)
and (4) or under Article 4 of Directive 92/43/EEC were
infringed,

— the Treaty was infringed as the selection decision which
formed the basis of the listing at national level was already
erroneous,

— the Commission abused its discretion in adding all of the
sites put forward by the Federal Republic of Germany to
the list without exception.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation
of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 L 206, p.
7).