Case T-543/19: Action brought on 30 July 2019 — Romania v Commission
Date: 2019-07-30
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, EU aid, EU programme, European Regional Development Fund, common transport policy, distribution of EU funding, financial aid, principle of additionality, transport infrastructure








C_2019337EN.01001201.xml










7.10.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 337/12






Action brought on 30 July 2019 — Romania v Commission
(Case T-543/19)
(2019/C 337/13)
Language of the case: Romanian

Parties


Applicant: Romania (represented by: C. Canțăr, M. Chicu, A. Rotăreanu and E. Gane, acting as Agents)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






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annul Decision C(2019)4027 final of 23 May 2019 in part, as follows:






a.


with regard to the sums entered in Row 1 of Columns 2 and 3 of the table concerning the balance in the text of Decision C(2019)4027 final, with the Commission being obliged to recalculate those sums, taking into consideration the co-financing rate from the Funds of 85 % for Priority Axes 1 and 2 of Programul Operațional 2014RO16M1OP001 Infrastructură Mare (Large Infrastructure Operational Programme 2014RO16M1OP001) (‘the POIM’);










b.


with regard to the calculation of the sums chargeable, in euros, to the Funds for Priority Axes 1 and 2 of the POIM in the Annex to Decision C(2019)4027 final, in particular:






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the section regarding the Cohesion Fund, Point 1 — Financial plan — Table 18a — Row AP1 — Column C — Co-financing rate — 75 %, to be replaced with 85 % pursuant to Decision C(2018)8890 final, with the Commission being obliged to recalculate, taking into consideration the co-financing rate of 85 %, the sums entered in:






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Point 3 — Appendix 1 — Row AP1, Column F — Amount chargeable to the Funds, and Column F7 — Amount chargeable to the Funds plus amount already paid limited to the contribution of the Fund;










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Point 4 — Calculation of the annual balance — Row AP1, Column CA and Column R — Revised amount chargeable to the Funds;










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Point 5 — Annual balance — Column T — Revised amount chargeable to the Funds;










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Point 5 — Annual balance — Column V — Row ‘To be recovered’;














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the section regarding the European Regional Development Fund, Point 1 — Financial Plan — Table 18a — Row AP2 — Column C — Co-financing rate — 75 %, to be replaced with 85 % pursuant to Decision C(2018)8890 final, with the Commission being obliged to recalculate, taking into consideration the co-financing rate of 85 %, the sums entered in:






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Point 3 — Appendix 1 — Row AP2, Column F — Amount chargeable to the Funds, and Column F7 — Amount chargeable to the Funds + amount already paid limited to the contribution of the Fund;










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Point 4 — Calculation of the annual balance — Row AP2, Column CA and Column R — Amount chargeable to the Funds;










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Point 5 — Annual balance — Column T — Revised amount chargeable to the Funds;










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Point 5 — Annual balance — Column V — Row ‘To be recovered’;






















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order the Commission to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on two pleas in law.






1.


First plea in law, alleging misuse by the Commission of its powers to calculate the amount chargeable to the Funds and failure to observe the principle of legitimate expectations






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Romania considers that the Commission’s staff incorrectly applied a co-financing rate of 75 % for Priority Axes 1 and 2 relating to the ‘Transport’ sector, given that, at the time of the acceptance of the accounts for the accounting year 2017-2018, Decision C(2018)8890 final, whereby the POIM was amended to increase the co-financing rate from 75 % to 85 % for projects relating to the ‘Transport’ sector (Priority Axes 1 and 2 of the POIM), was producing legal effects.










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At the same time, having regard to the clear provisions of Decision C(2018)8890 final, and the lack of provisions in Regulation 1303/2013 restricting the application of a co-financing rate approved by a decision to accounting years in respect of which proceedings are ongoing, Romania considers that, by failing to apply the co-financing rate of 85 % approved by Decision C(2018)8890 final, the contested decision fails to observe the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations.














2.


Second plea in law, alleging failure to fulfil the duty to state reasons laid down in the second paragraph of Article 296 TFEU and failure to observe the principle of sound administration






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Romania considers that there has been a failure to fulfil the duty to state reasons laid down in the second paragraph of Article 296 TFEU, since the contested decision does not mention any legal basis as regards the reasons why the Commission excluded, for the accounting year 2017-2018, the application of the increased co-financing rate of 85 %, as established by Decision C(2018)8890 final.










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At the same time, Romania considers that the evasive position taken by the European Commission during the decision-making process culminating in the adoption of Decision C(2019)4027 final, coupled with the delayed response by the Commission’s staff to the issues raised by the Romanian authorities, constitutes a failure to observe the principle of sound administration.