CELEX: C2001/061/42
Language: en
Date: 2001-02-24 00:00:00
Title: Case T-386/00: Action brought on 28 December 2000 by Margarida Gonçalves against the European Parliament

C 61/22               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                      24.2.2001
—     order that interest at the annual rate of 8 % or any other         The applicant claims that the Court should:
      appropriate rate to be determined by the Court be paid
      on the amount payable as from the date of judgment;                —     rule that the European Investment Bank is required to
                                                                               reimburse to Mr Seiller the sum of LUF 4 779 652 in
—     order the European Community, as represented here                        respect of his pension rights;
      by the Council of the European Union, the European
      Parliament and the Commission of the European Com-
      munities, to bear the costs of the proceedings.                    —     rule that that sum is to bear compound interest from
                                                                               1 May 1993 at the annual rate fixed by the President of
                                                                               the European Investment Bank;
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                         —     order the European Investment Bank to pay all the costs.
The applicant in the present case is a small well-established
firm in the business of high quality printing on folding carton
packaging for products such as cosmetics and fragances. The              Pleas in law and main arguments
market in question is to a great extent focused on the United
States both in terms of logistics and market share.
                                                                         The applicant in the present case, having worked for the EIB,
                                                                         submitted his resignation in April 1993, requesting that he
The applicant states that, as a result of the retaliatory measures       should not have to work his notice period. Thereafter, the
taken by the United States, and allowed by The Dispute                   defendant and the applicant signed an agreement by which the
Settlement Body, because of the adoption by the European                 EIB was to pay to Mr Seiller a certain sum ‘in full and final
Community of a scheme for importation of bananas that is to              settlement, on a lump-sum basis, of all accounts due and in
be considered as contrary to the GATT and GATS, the United               satisfaction of all rights and claims, whether contractual or
States market has been entirely closed off, so that heavy                extra-contractual, which you have or may have against the
investments in capital adapted specifically to the needs of this         Bank or any other Community body as at today’s date’.
market have been rendered worthless. As a question of fact,
the sanctions in question have been applied to the applicant’s
products now for over 18 months, taking the form of 100 %                The applicant maintains that the consent expressed by him in
ad valorem duties.                                                       that agreement is vitiated by the fact that, at the time when it
                                                                         was signed, he did not have available to him all the information
                                                                         necessary in order for him to be fully apprised. Thus, the sum
The applicant submits that the Community’s maintenance in                paid to him did not include the amount corresponding to the
place of an unlawful banana regime has caused it serious                 reimbursement of his pension rights.
damage which the Community has a duty to make good under
Article 288(2) C. In support of this claim the applicant submits
that the damage being caused to it is the direct result of the           The applicant therefore seeks to challenge the sum expressed
Community’s unlawful failure to comply with its international            to be in full and final settlement under the agreement signed
obligations.                                                             in April 1993.
Action brought on 27 December 2000 by Jean-Paul Seiller
            against the European Investment Bank                         Action brought on 28 December 2000 by Margarida
                                                                                  Gonçalves against the European Parliament
                        (Case T-385/00)
                                                                                                 (Case T-386/00)
                         (2001/C 61/41)
                                                                                                  (2001/C 61/42)
                   (Language of the case: French)
                                                                                            (Language of the case: French)
An action against the European Investment Bank was brought
before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities           An action against the European Parliament was brought before
on 27 December 2000 by Jean-Paul Seiller, resident in                    the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on
Luxembourg, represented by Dominique Chouanier, of the                   28 December 2000 by Margarida Gonçalves, residing in
Paris Bar, and Lex Thielen, of the Luxembourg Bar.                       Brussels, represented by Louis Tinti, of the Luxembourg Bar.
 ---pagebreak--- 24.2.2001              EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                         C 61/23
The applicant claims that the Court should:                               The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     annul the decision of the selection board rejecting the             —     annul the contested measure;
      application of the applicant in internal competition B/172
      opened by the notice published in Summary No 31/99;
                                                                          —     in the alternative, annul the contested measure and order
—     annul the decision establishing the list of suitable candi-               the defendant Commission to exclude from the agreed
      dates and all decisions taken by the defendant on the                     financing only the item of expenditure evidenced by the
      basis of such decisions;                                                  invoice from Linguistlink Ltd. No 67/91 for
                                                                                LIT 11 900 000 and declare the debt discharged in
                                                                                respect of the other lawful expenditure;
—     order the Parliament to pay the costs.
                                                                          —     order the defendant Commission to pay all the costs of
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                 the proceedings pursuant of Article 87 of the Rules of
                                                                                Procedure.
The applicant in the present case contests the refusal of the
selection board in internal competition B 7/172 to admit her
to the tests in that competition, the criteria for admission to           Pleas in law and main arguments
which she claims to fulfil.
                                                                          The present application has been made against the measure
In support of her application, she pleads:                                adopted by Directorate General XIX Budget, issued on 10 Octo-
                                                                          ber 2000 under number BUDG/G2/CBI-D(2000)96003569
—     infringement of Article 25 of the Staff Regulations;                requesting repayment and the debit note in relation to contract
                                                                          B4/91/3046/11396 of 20 December 1991, for financing for
—     infringement of Article 5 of Annex III to those Regu-               the applicant Committee. The purpose of that financing
      lations, resulting from a manifest error of assessment;             contract was to enable the organisation of a conference of
                                                                          international studies entitled ‘Effects of atmospheric pollutants
—     breach of the duty to have regard for the welfare and               on climate and vegetation’.
      interests of officials and of the principle of sound
      administration.
                                                                          The applicant states in that regard that:
                                                                          —     The conference followed the normal course in Taormina
                                                                                from 26 to 29 September 1991.
                                                                          —     The cost estimate was calculated at LIT 718 462 500,
                                                                                including VAT.
Action brought on 28 December 2000 by Comitato
organizzatore del convegno internazionale ‘Effetti degli                  —     Immediately after the conference, all the documentation
inquinamenti atmosferici sul clima e sulla vegetazione’                         relating to it was destroyed by a fire at the offices of the
    against Commission of the European Communities                              company which organised the conference. On account of
                                                                                events beyond its control the Organising Committee was
                         (Case T-387/00)                                        unable to recover the original statements and so had to
                                                                                undertake a complex reconstruction of them.
                          (2001/C 61/43)
                                                                          —     Following an initial claim for payment, in response to
                                                                                which the applicant sent documents which, in its view,
                                                                                were more than sufficient to prove and account for the
                   (Language of the case: Italian)                              expenditure incurred, the Commission remained silent
                                                                                for fully two years, giving rise to a legitimate expectation
                                                                                on the part of the Committee that the documentation
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-                       had been accepted and that all actions for recovery had
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the                      been abandoned.
European Communities on 28 December 2000 by the Comita-
to organizzatore del convegno internazionale "Effetti degli
inquinamenti atmosferici sul clima e sulla vegetazione" (Organ-           —     Instead, and to its great surprise, the Directorate General
ising Committee for the International Conference on ‘The                        concerned repeats its request for repayment, again with-
Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Climate and Vegetation’),                  out providing reasons, according to the applicant, and
represented by Paolo Grassi e Giuseppe Russo, with an address                   with no reference to an actual measure annulling the
for service in Luxembourg.                                                      financing.