CELEX: C1998/209/84
Language: en
Date: 1998-07-04 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 6 April 1998 by Danagro Adviser A/S, Plunkett Foundation and Irish Agri-Food Development Ltd; having formed a joint venture under Danish law entitled Ecord Consortium for Russian Cooperation, against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-60/98)

4.7.98                EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                 C 209/39
  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE                           Currall and Rosemary Caudwell), supported by National
                       of 14 May 1998                               Association of Licensed Opencast Operators, having its
                                                                    registered office in Swindon (United Kingdom),
in Case T-21/97: Sofia Goycoolea v. Commission of the               represented by Nicholas Green and Mark Hoskins,
                  European Communities (1)                          Barristers, instructed by David Wilson, Alexander Dowie
(Temporary staff Ð False information given in the                   and Christopher Jobson, Solicitors, with an address for
application for appointment Ð Article 50(1) of the                  service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Victor Gillen,
Conditions of Employment of Other Servants Ð Third                  13 Rue Aldringen Ð application for the annulment of the
subparagraph of Article 5(1) of the Staff Regulations Ð             Commission's implied decision refusing to reject the
Conditions governing the form in which complaints are to            complaint against the applicant lodged by the National
                           be made)                                 Association of Licensed Opencast Operators on 15 June
                                                                    1994 Ð the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber),
                        (98/C 209/82)                               composed of: V. Tiili, President, C. P. BrieÈt and A.
                                                                    Potocki, Judges; H. Jung, Registrar, has made an order on
               (Language of the case: French)                       29 April 1998, the operative part of which is as follows:
In Case T-21/97: Sofia Goycoolea, a former member of                1. The application is dismissed.
the temporary staff of the Commission of the European
Communities, represented by Jean-NoeÈl Louis, Thierry
Demaseure and Ariane Tornel, of the Brussels Bar, with an           2. The applicant shall pay the costs in their entirety,
address for service in Luxembourg at the offices of                     including those of the intervener.
Fiduciaire Myson SARL, 30 Rue de Cessange, v.
Commission of the European Communities (Agents: Julian              (1) OJ C 386, 31.12.1994.
Currall and Florence Duvieusart-Clotuche) Ð application
for annulment of the decision of the authority empowered
to conclude contracts of employment within the
Commission of 7 May 1996 terminating the applicant's
contract as a member of the temporary staff Ð the Court
of First Instance (Fifth Chamber), composed of: J. Azizi,
President, and R. García-Valdecasas and M. Jaeger,                  Action brought on 6 April 1998 by Danagro Adviser A/S,
Judges; A. Mair, Administrator, for the Registrar, has              Plunkett Foundation and Irish Agri-Food Development
given a judgment on 14 May 1998, in which it:                       Ltd; having formed a joint venture under Danish law
                                                                    entitled Ecord Consortium for Russian Cooperation,
                                                                       against the Commission of the European Communities
1. Dismisses the application.
                                                                                            (Case T-60/98)
2. Orders the parties to bear their own costs.                                               (98/C 209/84)
(1) OJ C 108, 5.4.1997.                                                             (Language of the case: French)
                                                                    An action against the Commission of the European
                                                                    Communities was brought before the Court of First
                                                                    Instance of the European Communities on 6 April 1998
                                                                    by Danagro Adviser A/S, established at Glostrup
     ORDER OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE                           (Denmark), Plunkett Foundation, established at Long
                       of 29 April 1998                             Hanborough (United Kingdom) and Irish Agri-Food
                                                                    Development Ltd; established at Dublin (Ireland), having
in   Case T-367/94: British Coal Corporation                v.
                                                                    formed a joint venture under Danish law entitled Ecord
       Commission of the European Communities (1)
                                                                    Consortium for Russian Cooperation, represented by Mia
(ECSC Treaty Ð Action for annulment of an implied                   Declercq and Kurt Haegeman, of the Brussels Bar, with an
decision of refusal Ð Action manifestly lacking any                 address for service in Luxembourg at the chambers of
                      foundation in law)                            Marc Loesch, 11 Rue Goethe.
                        (98/C 209/83)
                                                                    The applicant claims that the Court should:
               (Language of the case: English)
                                                                    Ð annul the Commission's decision of 17 March 1998
In Case T-367/94: British Coal Corporation, having its                  rejecting the applicants' tender, submitted in response
registered office in London, represented by David Vaughan               to an invitation to tender by the European
QC, David Lloyd Jones, Barrister, and Cyrus Mehta,                      Commission for a project financed by the TACIS fund
Solicitor, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the             entitled: Russia': Promoting Co-operative Ventures by
Chambers of Loesch & Wolter, 11 Rue Goethe, against                     Independent Farmers', brief title: Independent
Commission of the European Communities (Agents: Julian                  Farmers' Co-ops (Project No FDRUS 9701),
 ---pagebreak--- C 209/40             EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                     4.7.98
Ð declare that the applicants are to be admitted to the             Action brought on 8 April 1998 by Compagnie
     tendering procedure in response to an invitation to            Continentale (France) against the Commission of the
     tender by the European Commission for a project                                   European Communities
     financed by the TACIS fund entitled: Russia':                                         (Case T-61/98)
     Promoting Co-operative Ventures by Independent
     Farmers', brief title: Independent Farmers' Co-ops                                     (98/C 209/85)
     (Project No FDRUS 9701).
                                                                                    (Language of the case: French)
Ð order the defendant to pay the costs.
                                                                    An action against the Commission of the European
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                 Communities was brought before the Court of First
                                                                    Instance of the European Communities on 8 April 1998
                                                                    by Compagnie Continentale (France), established at
The applicants are participants in a joint venture under            LabeÁge (France), represented by Patrick Chabrier, of the
Danish law entitled Ecord Consortium for Russian Co-                Paris Bar, with an address for service in Luxembourg at
operation, formed to provide a framework for the                    the Chambers of Ernst Arendt, 8Ð10 Rue Mathias Hardt.
preparation of a tender in response to an invitation to
tender by the European Commission, and, in the event of
a successful tender, to procure technical assistance and            The applicant claims that the Court should:
administration for the project, including certain financial
arrangements.
                                                                    Ð declare that Compagnie Continentale has the requisite
                                                                        legal capacity to bring its action for non-contractual
On 13 March 1998 the applicant Danagro Adviser sent                     liability against the Commission of the European
Ecord's tender by DHL courier to the address given in the               Communities,
Commission's invitation to tender Tacis Procurement
Unit, Rue de la Loi 99, 1040 Brussels'. The tender arrived
                                                                    Ð order the Commission to pay to                  Compagnie
in Brussels on 16 March 1998; the staff of the
                                                                        Continentale the sum of ECU 1 858 987,
Commission signed to acknowledge receipt of it at 8.30
a. m. The deadline for the submission of tenders was
16 March 1998 at 11.00 a. m.                                        Ð order the Commission to pay to Compagnie
                                                                        Continentale interest on those sums at the legal rate,
According to the applicants, by letter of 15 November
1991 DHL had received instructions from the Commission              Ð order the Commission to pay the costs.
to deliver all mail addressed to the Commission to the
central mail office of the European Communities at 1140
Evere, 12 Rue de GeneÁve. The mail office informed DHL              Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
on 16 March after 11.00 a. m. that the consignment from
Danagro had to be delivered directly to Tacis Procurement
Unit. DHL then took the consignment and delivered it                The applicant states that on 27 November 1992 it
directly to Tacis Procurement Unit on 17 March 1998. By             concluded two contracts for the sale of wheat with Vao
letter of 17 March 1998 (contested decision), the                   Exportkhleb, a Russian importer, within the framework of
applicants' tender was rejected on the ground that it was           a medium-term loan granted by the Community to the
submitted late.                                                     Soviet Union and its Republics with a view to financing
                                                                    purchases of supplies of agricultural products. On
                                                                    23 February 1993 the applicant agreed with Exportkhleb
The applicants submit that the contested decision should            new prices for quantities of wheat to be delivered from
be annulled on the grounds of breach of the principles of           28 February 1993. Those agreements, which took the
the protection of legitimate expectations, sound                    form of amendments to the initial contracts, were sent for
administration and the duty of diligence. They argue that           approval to the Commission by the VneshEconomBank of
the Commission acted in breach of the principles of                 Moscow. By letter of 1 April 1993 Mr Steichen, a
natural justice in rejecting their tender. The rules                Member        of    the     Commission,      informed    the
governing the tendering procedure are intended to exclude           VneshEconomBank of the Commission's refusal to
the possibility of collusion between those awarding the             approve the amendments.
contracts and to ensure fair treatment of all candidates.
The rules are not intended to rule out genuine and valid
tenders on the pretext of technical errors which are                The applicant, which has already contested that refusal by
beyond the control of the tenderers. Both the applicants            the Commission in proceedings before the Community
and DHL followed the instructions given to them by the              judicature (1), considers, on the basis of arguments very
Commission. The fact that those instructions did not                similar to those advanced in support of the application for
achieve the desired result is entirely beyond their control.        annulment, that there has been misconduct on the part of
                                                                    the defendant institution. It therefore claims compensation
                                                                    for the damage suffered as a result of the refusal by the
                                                                    Community's financial agent to pay for the supplies of