CELEX: C2001/275/28
Language: en
Date: 2001-09-29 00:00:00
Title: Case T-159/01: Action brought on 12 July 2001 by Christopher Wilkinson against Commission of the European Communities

C 275/14               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                       29.9.2001
The applicant goes on to argue that the Commission erred in                     —     to assign to the unit in Directorate A of DG INFSO
applying Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 of the Council (1) to                            responsible for telecommunications the duties of
the situation in this case. It submits that Combus has neither                        organising and managing the internet infrastructures
a ‘tariff obligation’ nor an ‘obligation to operate’, and that the                    which the applicant carried out in his capacity as
company does not provide a public service. The regulation is                          advisor;
not applicable to Combus and the State aid granted to Combus
does not come with the scope of that regulation.                                —     to abolish his duties as advisor;
In the contested decision, the Commission proceeded on the                      —     to transfer him in due course to another Directorate
basis that the aid for Combus is restructuring aid. Against this,                     General by way of redeployment; and
the applicant argues that the aid granted is not restructuring
aid, but rather an operating subsidy, and that at no time was a                 —     to transfer him in the interim as advisor ad personam
restructuring plan submitted for any of the three subsidies                           at Directorate A of DG INFSO.
granted in total. Further, it is a condition of the framework
provisions that aid recipients must contribute significantly to           —     annul the implied decision rejecting a number of adminis-
the restructuring programme using their own means from                          trative complaints lodged by the applicant on 4 and
external financing, and it is, according to the applicant, obvious              19 December 2000, and on 19 January 2001, against the
that Combus did not itself make any contribution.                               decisions of 1 December.
                                                                          —     order the defendant to pay the costs.
So far as Article 73 EC is concerned, the applicant submits
inter alia that neither the Member States nor the Commission
can invoke Article 73 EC in order to legitimise aid for the
transport industry or transport objectives which cannot be                Pleas in law and main arguments
regarded as being compatible with Article 87 EC.
                                                                          —     the existence in the present case of a manifest error of
The applicant concludes by arguing that the Commission has                      assessment;
infringed the principles of equal treatment and proportionality,
has failed to meet its obligation to provide reasons, and has             —     manifestly inadequate reasons for the contested acts;
committed essential procedural errors, for instance through its
use of fundamentally flawed facts in support of the decision.             —     infringement of the decision of 26 July 2000
                                                                                implementing ‘peer review’, as set out in the memor-
                                                                                andum of 13 September 2000 from the Secretary General
(1) Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 of the Council of 26 June 1969 on
                                                                                to the Directors General and Heads of Service;
    action by Member States concerning the obligations inherent in
    the concept of a public service in transport by rail, road and
    inland waterway (OJ, English Special Edition 1969(I), p. 276).        —     breach of the duty to have regard for the welfare of
                                                                                officials;
                                                                          —     infringement of Article 7(1) of the Staff Regulations.
Action brought on 12 July 2001 by Christopher Wilkin-
  son against Commission of the European Communities
                         (Case T-159/01)
                                                                          Action brought on 17 July 2001 by Juan Pedro Pérez
                                                                          Escanilla against the Commission of the European Com-
                         (2001/C 275/28)                                                               munities
                    (Language of the case: French)                                                  (Case T-163/01)
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-                                          (2001/C 275/29)
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 12 July 2001 by Christopher
Wilkinson, residing in Brussels, represented by Marc-Albert                                   (Language of the case: French)
Lucas, lawyer.
                                                                          An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
The applicant claims that the Court should:                               ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
                                                                          European Communities on 17 July 2001 by Juan Pedro Pérez
—     annul the decisions of 1 December 2000 of the Director              Escanilla, residing in Brussels, represented by Jean-Noël Louis
      General of DG INFSO:                                                and Véronique Peere, lawyers.