Case T-330/21: Action brought on 12 June 2021 — EWC Academy v Commission
Date: 2021-06-12
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: European Works Council, award of contract, budget, equal treatment, financial solvency, invitation to tender








C_2021320EN.01004401.xml










9.8.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 320/44






Action brought on 12 June 2021 — EWC Academy v Commission
(Case T-330/21)
(2021/C 320/50)
Language of the case: German

Parties


Applicant: EWC Academy GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) (represented by: H. Däubler-Gmelin, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






—


annul the rejection decision of 14 April 2021 of the Commission of the European Union, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL), EMPL.B.2/AP/ab; Ref. Ares (2021);










—


oblige the EU Commission to adopt a lawful grant decision;










—


order the defendant to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

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






1.


First plea in law, alleging that the contested rejection decision of 14 April 2021 of the Commission disregards the meaning of Article 197(2)(c) of the EU Financial Regulation (1) in connection with the call for proposals VP/2020/008 and applies those provisions to European works councils in a legally impermissible manner. The requirement for the applicant European works councils to demonstrate that they have their own budget or annual accounts and bank account as evidence of stability and financial capacity would exclude from that support, a priori, the large majority of European works councils whose national rules for transposing Directive 2009/38/EC (2) do not provide for legal personality. That breaches the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination and diametrically contradicts also the purpose of the support programme.










2.


Second plea in law, alleging that as the call for proposals does not mention a restriction of the range of eligible applicants and even expressly applies without limit, including to United Kingdom European works councils, among others, the restriction would also breach the fundamental EU principle of transparency.










3.


Third plea in law, alleging the interpretation put forward in the rejection decision and its application to European works councils would also unduly favour undertakings, which — as social partners — in principle are called upon to submit suitable support projects in the call for proposals VP/2020/008.






(1)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ 2018 L 193, p. 1).

(2)  Directive 2009/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (Recast) (OJ 2009 L 122, p. 28).