Case T-186/08: Action brought on 9 May 2008 — Liga para a protecção da natureza v Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2008-05-09
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, access to information, action for annulment (EU), administrative transparency, engineering structure, infringement of EU law

19.7.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 183/25

Under the third plea for annulment, the applicant submits that
the contested decision infringes the general principles of legal
certainty, of the protection of legitimate expectations and of the
protection of property. The applicant further contends that it
falls to the Court to rule whether the defendant misused its
powers.

the applicant
Finally, under the fourth plea for annulment,
submits that the defendant did not comply with the principle of
proportionality as regards the corrective measures proposed by
the contested decision.

Action brought on 15 May 2008 — Commission v
Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Regional, SA

(Case T-174/08)

(2008/C 183/48)

The project was set to last for 18 months.

Work was started on the project on 1 January 1996.

The Commission undertook to finance up to 50 % of the total
cost of the project.

On 25 September 1997 the parties agreed to a first revision of
the contract.

the project
The duration of
36 months, with a starting date of 1 January 1996.

increased from 18 months to

On 29 June 1998 the parties agreed to a second revision of the
the project was
contract,
reduced from 36 to 30 months, and the starting date of
1 January 1996 remained unchanged.

following which the duration of

The final costs of the project approved by the Commission were
lower than the advances made by the latter within the context
of contract No SU 1001 (SU) ENCATA.

Language of the case: Portuguese

Consequently, the Commission sought reimbursement of the
advances made in excess of the costs incurred.

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: M. Afonso, acting as Agent)

Defendant: Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Regional, SA

Form of order sought

The sum owed by the defendant amounts to EUR 63 349,27
plus late payment interest.

For years the Commission has incessantly been reminding the
defendant of its debt and has sent it numerous requests for
payment. The defendant, for its part, has acknowledged its debt
on numerous occasions and has stated its intention to repay it
as soon as possible, but up until now it has not made any
payment whatsoever to the Commission of the debt and the
late payment interest in respect of the advances made in excess
of the framework of the ENCATA project.

— Order the defendant to reimburse the Commission a prin-
sum of

cipal
EUR 28 940,70 in late payment interest until 5 May 2008;

amount of EUR 63 349,27, plus

a

— order the defendant to pay late payment interest from 6 May
2008 at a daily rate of EUR 10,91 until full repayment of
the debt has been made;

— order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The present action was brought under Article 238 EC.

Action brought on 9 May 2008 — Liga para a protecção da
natureza v Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-186/08)

(2008/C 183/49)

Language of the case: Portuguese

the project

Within the framework of
‘European Network of
Centres for the Advancement of Telematics in Urban and Rural
Areas’ (ENCATA), the European Community, represented by the
Commission, entered into contract No SU 1001 (SU) ENCATA
with 12 contractors, among which the defendant.

Parties

In accordance with the provisions of that contract the Commis-
sion undertook to grant financial assistance to the group of
contractors, among which the defendant, for the development
of that project.

Applicant: Liga para a protecção da natureza (LPN)
Portugal) (represented by: P. Vinagre e Silva, lawyer)

(Lisbon,

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

C 183/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.7.2008

Form of order sought

Decision of implied rejection

— Annulment of the decision of the European Commission of
28 February 2008 (referred to in letter of 3 April 2008 sent
by the Commission to the Liga para a Protecção da natureza
(LPN)) whereby the Commission closed the file on the
complaint No 2003/4523 relating to the construction of the
Baixo Sabor dam, in so far as that decision wrongly presup-
poses compliance with the procedural formalities essential
for the exercise of LPN's rights to participate in the adminis-
trative procedure relating to the ‘Baixa Sabor Dam’ project,
initiated with complaint No 2003/4523 addressed to the
European Commission;

— Annulment also of the decision whereby the Secretariat-
General of the Commission tacitly rejected the confirmatory
application submitted by LPN on 19 February 2008 under
Article 8 of Regulation No 1049/2001 (1)

regard

1367/2006 (2)

to Regulations No

Having
and
No 1049/2001, which confirm unequivocally the right of access
to ‘internal rules’ based on which the right to submit preli-
minary comments is granted, the silence — first of the Commis-
sion, then of the Secretariat General on the confirmatory appli-
cation — is inexplicable and flatly contravenes the right of
access to documents and information laid down by those regu-
lations.

(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) Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provi-
sions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environ-
mental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (OJ L 264,
p. 13).

— Order payment

to LPN of

token compensation for the
infringement of LPN's
the
Commission would act fairly and would comply with proce-
dural rules;

legitimate expectations

that

— Request of the Commission, under Article 64 et seq. of the
Rules of Procedure, that it submit to the Court the said deci-
sion to close the file of 28 February 2008, which has been
neither notified to the applicant nor published;

— Order the Commission to pay the costs.

Action brought on 22 May 2008 — Forum 187 v
Commission

(Case T-189/08)

(2008/C 183/50)

Language of the case: English

Pleas in law and main arguments

Decision to close the file

The decision to close the file is invalid since it is based on a
clear infringement of the right to present preliminary comments
which the Commission itself granted to LPN.

Applicant: Forum 187 ASBL (Brussels, Belgium) (represented by:
A. Sutton, G. Forwood, Barristers)

Parties

The Commission has refused access to any material in the file
which would have enabled LPN to exercise its right to submit
preliminary comments, and has not specified the ‘internal rules’
(which it claims exist) on the basis of which that right was
granted by it.

Defendant: Commission of the European communities

Form of order sought

There has also been an infringement of the fundamental princi-
ples of good faith, fairness, transparency and proper administra-
tion, since the comments cannot even have been analysed
before adoption of the final decision to close the file (clearly
less than 24 hours elapsed
demonstrated by the fact
between the sending of the preliminary comments — 40 pages
in Portuguese, with fresh facts and arguments — and the deci-
sion to close the file).

that

— annul the contested decision insofar as it does not provide
reasonable prospective transitional periods for the coordina-
tion centres covered by the judgment of the Court of Justice
of 22 June 2006;

— order the Commission to pay costs of this case and

— take such other or further steps as justice may require.