Case T-179/06: Action brought on 7 July 2006 — Commission of the European Communities v Burie Onderzoek en Advies B.V.
Date: 2006-09-16
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, appeal to the Court (EU), audit, contract, information technology, payment, research and development, telematics

C 224/48

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.9.2006

Action brought on 7 July 2006 — Commission of the
European Communities v Burie Onderzoek en Advies B.V.

Action brought on 12 July 2006 — Télévision Française 1
v Commission

(Case T-179/06)

(2006/C 224/101)

Language of the case: Dutch

(Case T-193/06)

(2006/C 224/102)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: A. Weimar, as Agent, assisted by W.A.M. Rupert,
lawyer)

Defendant: Burie Onderzoek en Advies B.V. (Nijeholtpade, Neth-
erlands)

Form of order sought

— Order the defendant to pay to the Commission the sum of
sum of
EUR 646 871,28,
namely
EUR 454 832,62 and EUR 192 039,66 default
interest,
plus interest at the statutory rate from the date of lodging
this application until the date on which the debt has been
paid in full;

principal

a

Parties

Applicant: Télévision Française 1 (Boulogne, France)
sented by: J.-P. Hordies and C. Smits, lawyers)

(repre-

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought by the applicant

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— declare the application admissible and well founded;

— order the annulment of the decision given by the Commis-
sion on 22 March 2006 concerning aid schemes for the
film and audiovisual industry;

— make an appropriate order as to costs.

— order the defendant to pay the costs of the judicial and

extra-judicial proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Pleas in law and main arguments

The European Community, represented by the Commission,
concluded two contracts with the defendant and other contrac-
tors relating to activities carried out
in the framework of
research and development in the field of advanced communica-
in Europe (RACE II — project R2022
tion technologies
Barbara) and telematics applications of common interest (Tele-
promise program).

In accordance with the agreement, the Commission carried out
an audit. Following the results of that audit, the Commission
sent the defendant a debit note. The Commission submits that
it follows from the general conditions of the contracts that the
defendant is obliged to repay the difference between the agreed
costs and the payments already made by the Commission and
that this is a case of an undue payment under Article 203 of
Book 6 of the Netherlands Civil Code, which applies to the
contracts in question.

On 3 October 2001 the applicant lodged with the Commission
two complaints by which it applied for a finding that the
changes to the aid schemes in the field of support for the film
and audiovisual industry in France constituted illegal State aid,
in so far as they conferred, in breach of Article 88(3) EC, and
in any event, State aid incompatible with the common market.

By Decision C(2006)832 Final of 22 March 2006 (State Aid
NN 84/2004 and N 95/2004 — France, aid schemes for the
cinema and audiovisual industry), the Commission declared the
support schemes for cinematographic and audiovisual produc-
tion put in place in France to be compatible with the common
market under Article 87(3)(c) and (d) EC. That is the decision
contested in this action.

In support of its claims, the applicant relies on three pleas in
law.

the applicant maintains that

By its first plea in law,
the
Commission infringed essential procedural requirements in that
the contested decision is insufficiently reasoned in respect of
the nature of parafiscal charges, the nature of the investment
obligations imposed on televised broadcasters and the compat-
ibility with the common market of the other measures of State
support challenged by the applicant.