Case T-245/07: Action brought on 13 July 2007 — Virsa v Council and Commission
Date: 2007-09-08
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Commission, action for annulment (EU), aid system, common agricultural policy, cotton, farm income, support policy

C 211/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

8.9.2007

the Commission, exceeded the level of normal stocks of those
products and imposed on Poland for that reason ‘the amounts
to be charged … in consequence of the expense of elimination
of those quantities [of surplus stocks]’.

Action brought on 13 July 2007 — Campo de Cartagena v
Council and Commission

(Case T-244/07)

(2007/C 211/85)

Language of the proceedings: Spanish

The applicant requests that the decision be declared invalid and
bases its charge on two pleas in law: the plea that the Commis-
sion was not competent to adopt the contested decision and
that it breached Point 4 of Section 4 of Annex IV to the Act of
Accession (2); and the plea that the Commission infringed the
principle of proportionality.

Parties

As the basis for its first plea in law, the applicant submits that,
in adopting the contested decision, the Commission exceeded
the competence deriving from Point 4 of Section 4 of Annex IV
to the Act of Accession inasmuch as that decision alters the
agreements entered into in the Act of Accession by reason of
the introduction of financial sanctions not provided for in that
Act. The applicant further submits that the contested decision is
at variance with the principle defined in the Act of Accession
which provides that the Member States must effect the actual
elimination of surplus stocks of agricultural products in free
circulation within their territory at the time of accession.

the same time that

the applicant submits that

As the basis for its plea in law concerning infringement of the
principle of proportionality,
the
objectives of the contested decision are mutually incompatible
and for that reason have no legal justification. Moreover, in the
applicant's view, the contested decision is not an appropriate
means by which to calculate the costs of eliminating surplus
supplies. The applicant submits at
the
contested decision is critically flawed in its determination of the
quantities of surplus stocks in free circulation within Polish
territory and that it failed to take account of the quantities of
stocks which Poland eliminated at its own expense following the
date of accession. The applicant contends that
the decision
imposed on Poland the costs of eliminating stocks which in
actual fact were not borne by the Community, and that this
resulted in unjust enrichment of the Community to the detri-
ment of Poland. The applicant also submits that the adoption of
the contested decision was not a necessary act in view of the
lack of disturbances on the agricultural markets following Polish
accession to the European Union and in view of the lengthy
period of time which has elapsed since the date of accession.
According to the applicant's assertions, the contested decision,
notwithstanding the fact that it was adopted on the basis of the
Act of Accession, does not realise any of the objectives defined
in that Act within the agricultural sector.

(1) OJ 2007 L 138, p. 14.
(2) Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic,
the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of
the
Latvia,
Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia
and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on
which the European Union is founded (OJ 2003 L 236, p. 33).

the Republic of Lithuania,

the Republic of Hungary,

Applicant: S.A.T.,
sented by: L. Ortiz Blanco, lawyer)

‘Campo de Cartagena’ (Murcia, Spain) (repre-

Defendant: Council of the European Union and Commission of
the European Communities

Forms of order sought

— to uphold the present action for damages,

in accordance
with Article 228 EC, and declare the applicant is entitled to
be financially compensated by the Council and the Commis-
sion jointly and severally in the sum total of two hundred
and eighty-eight
thousand two hundred and thirty-eight
euros (EUR 288 238);

— to order the defendant institutions to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The pleas in law and main arguments are those already put
forward in the Case T-217/07 Las Palmeras v Council and
Commission.

Action brought on 13 July 2007 — Virsa v Council and
Commission

(Case T-245/07)

(2007/C 211/86)

Language of the proceedings: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: Virsa, S. Coop. L.
L. Ortiz Blanco, lawyer)

(Murcia, Spain)

(represented by:

Defendants: Council of the European Union and Commission of
the European Communities

8.9.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 211/47

Forms of order sought

Action brought on 11 July 2007 — Slovakia v Commission

— to uphold the present action for damages,

in accordance
with Article 288 EC, and declare the applicant is entitled to
be financially compensated by the Council and the Commis-
sion jointly and severally in the sum total of one million six
hundred and fifty-five thousand four hundred and ten euros
(EUR 1 655 410);

(Case T-247/07)

(2007/C 211/88)

— to order the defendant institutions to pay the costs.

Language of the case: Slovak

Pleas in law and main arguments

The pleas in law and main arguments are those already put
forward in the Case T-217/07 Las Palmeras v Council and
Commission.

Parties

Applicant: Slovak Republic (represented by: J. Čorba, Agent)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Action brought on 13 July 2007 — Coesagro v Council and
Commission

Form of order sought

(Case T-246/07)

(2007/C 211/87)

Language of the proceedings: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: S. Coop. And. Ecijana de Servicios Agropecuarios
(represented by: L. Ortiz Blanco,
(Coesagro),
lawyer)

(Seville, Spain)

Defendants: Council of the European Union and Commission of
the European Communities

Forms of order sought

— to uphold the present action for damages,

in accordance
with Article 228 EC, and declare the applicant is entitled to
be financially compensated by the Council and the Commis-
sion jointly and severally in the sum total one million and
thirty five thousand four hundred and sixty six euros
(EUR 1 035 466);

— to order the defendant institutions to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The pleas in law and main arguments are those already put
forward in Case T-217/07 Las Palmeras v Council and Commission.

— declare the contested decision void inasmuch as it relates to
the applicant, alternatively,
if the Court of First Instance
considers it necessary or desirable, annul the contested deci-
sion in its entirety;

— order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

seeks

applicant

The
annulment of Commission Decision
C(2007) 1979 final of 4 May 2007 on the determination of
surplus stocks of agricultural products other than sugar and the
financial consequences of their elimination in relation to the
accession of
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (1) in
the amended version of 25 May 2007. The contested Commis-
sion decision fixed the quantities of certain types of fruit and
rice in free circulation in the Slovak Republic at the date of
accession exceeding the quantities which could be regarded as
constituting a normal carryover of stock at 1 May 2004. At the
same time, it charged the applicant EUR 3 634 000 in conse-
quence of the expense of eliminating those quantities.

The applicant submits that the defendant lacked the power to
adopt the contested decision.

In addition, the applicant states that even if the defendant were
to have the power to determine excess stocks in the Slovak
Republic and to impose a financial penalty on the applicant in
respect of those allegedly excess stocks, it infringed the Treaty of
Accession (2) in that it did not act on the correct legal basis,
namely Article 41 of the Act concerning the conditions of
accession (3).